Good news about the long-coveted trade target for the Lakers
Since NBA free agency this past winter, the Los Angeles Lakers’ infatuation for 27-year-old guard Bruce Brown has been the least well-kept secret. After receiving a two-year, $45 million offer from the Indiana Pacers, Brown was almost immediately connected to the Lakers as a player they were interested in signing. However, it seemed as though the young guard would be happy to play his new team into the sunset.
However, the NBA moves swiftly, and early this season, Brown was traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of the Pascal Siakam transaction. Not only are the Lakers back in the news, but it looks like Brown could be dealt twice this season because Toronto wants to assemble the youngest core possible.
Josh Lewenberg of TSN said that all players save Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett are “available for business” in trade negotiations with the Raptors.
This is a team in flux, and Ujiri has made it apparent that they want to make more trades before the trade deadline of February 8th, even after making a few significant transactions that might change the course of the organization. The obvious has been confirmed by many league sources: the Raptors seem to be open for business, and everyone and everything is on the table except for Barnes and the two former Knicks,” Lewenberg says. “It’s difficult to imagine them passing up the chance to turn any of their veterans, like Trent, Dennis Schroder, Chris Boucher, the recently acquired Bruce Brown, or maybe even Poeltl, into picks or prospects that would help push the reconstruction forward.”
It’s likely that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka will spend a lot of time on the phone as the trade deadline of February 8 draws near, given that this report was released just one week after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski discussed the Lakers and Brown on “NBA Countdown” (and repeated the same conversation a few days later). Since the team’s defeat to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals the previous spring, Brown is the guy “the Lakers have truly been focused on attempting to acquire,” according to Wojnarowski at the time.
Though it’s noteworthy, the Raptors’ alleged desire and openness to trade almost any player—including Brown—is particularly fascinating for the Lakers.
As the days go by, it becomes more and more likely that the Lakers, who have also been linked to guard Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks, among others, will eventually make a change. It remains to be seen, however, just how active they will decide to be. What’s even more intriguing is the possibility of signing both Brown and Murray. The Hawks’ asking price for the latter is perhaps too high to be achievable.
