The Lakers are targeting Bruce Brown as a possible major addition before the trade deadline.
Bruce Brown was moved to the Toronto Raptors as part of the Pascal Siakam trade, sending the 2023 champion to play on a rebuilding Raptors squad after he signed with the Pacers in the summer.
Teams around the NBA are reportedly interested in getting Brown from Toronto, with Adrian Wojnarowski revealing that the Lakers have had an interest in making a trade for the swingman.
“From the time the Lakers lost to Denver in the Conference Finals last year, there’s been one player they’ve been focused on acquiring. Bruce Brown Jr…. There has been no shortage of teams reaching out to Toronto for Bruce Brown, he fits everywhere. The Lakers are among them. Continue to watch the Lakers with Bruce Brown to see if there’s a pathway.”
woj just hinted at the lakers being extremely interested in bruce brown
he even went as far as to say they tried trading for him while he was a pacer
wow pic.twitter.com/FhhBLVkU07
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) January 20, 2024
Wojnarowski also revealed that Brown was very close to signing with the Lakers as a free agent but ultimately chose the Pacers for giving him a much larger contract.
“He was on the Denver team that eliminated the Lakers, they couldn’t afford to keep him. In free agency, if Indiana hadn’t stepped up with a two-year, $45 million deal, there’s a very good chance Bruce Brown would have gone to the Lakers for the non-tax mid-level exception. The Lakers have continued to try and trade for him from the Pacers.”
The New York Knicks have also been reported as an interested team in Brown, which could lead to a bidding war over the high-utility role player. The Raptors are reportedly looking for picks beyond the 2024 NBA Draft, something that both the Lakers and Knicks could offer if they value Brown highly enough.
Should The Lakers Pursue Bruce Brown?
It seems that the Lakers’ primary goal this winter is to land Dejounte Murray, with a proposed package of D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a 2029 first-round pick already on the table for Atlanta. If they fail to land Murray, would they reroute this package to Toronto for Brown?
Brown is averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists and is an extremely useful role player but doesn’t necessarily address the issues the Lakers have right now. If they make a deal involving D’Angelo Russell, they have to ensure they get a point guard in return or their guard rotation will be left threadbare, especially with Gabe Vincent’s injury issues.
A more ambitious way of getting this deal done could be to acquire Murray with Russell and JHS while sending Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent to Toronto to acquire Brown. Only two of those four players are actually in the rotation but that would mean that the Lakers are emptying their asset capital to win-now.
Dejounte, Austin Reaves, Brown, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis would be a fierce starting five. If Murray becomes unavailable, the Lakers could realistically just try and get the Raptors to give up both Brown and former Laker Dennis Schroder in a possible deal.
The options are endless for LA right now, but they’ll take their time before making a big move because they only have one shot at getting this right.
