Bruce Brown, Toronto Raptors
Just a few months ago, Bruce Brown was considered one of the hottest candidates to be moved on the trade market. However, when the Toronto Raptors elected to not trade him during the offseason, it quickly became clear that he was probably not going to emerge as a legit trade candidate again until the NBA Trade Deadline. Well, we've arrived and after an early-season injury derailed his start to the year, Brown should be a quality trade candidate once again as the deadline quickly approaches.
Brown has only played in a handful of games so far this season but is averaging seven points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from 3-point range in a limited role for the Raptors. There's reason to believe that he could be a real asset for a playoff team during the second half of the season. For Toronto, who is clearly in the very early stages of a rebuild, Brown simply doesn't pose much value - aside from perhaps being a quality mentor in the locker room for some of the younger players.
Why Bruce Brown will likely be traded: In the final year of his contract, it would not make much sense for the Raptors to keep him on the roster beyond the NBA Trade Deadline. Unless the Raptors are planning on re-signing him during the offseason, which would be a complete misplay (at least in my opinion), there is too much evidence to suggest that the Raptors should trade him. Maybe Toronto doesn't believe the trade value is there and would want to re-sign him to allow him to rebuild it and then trade him in a year or two, but that seems too risky of a plan in my eyes.
At this point, a trade of Brown makes the most sense for all sides involved. Toronto should just chalk this gamble as an "L" and look to move on from the veteran wing. Similarly, at this point in his career, you'd also have to imagine that Brown would very much appreciate being traded to a contender. Since leaving Denver a few years ago in free agency, Brown has not played much "meaningful" basketball. That could change if he does end up being moved ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline this year.