NBA Rumors: A pre-season injury could complicate the Toronto Raptors' plan to trade Bruce Brown at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline.
At the start of the NBA offseason, there was an overwhelming belief that the Toronto Raptors were going to trade Bruce Brown at some point this summer. Once the NBA Draft and the busy portion of Free Agency passed, it quickly became clear that perhaps those plans had changed. Even with Brown on the roster heading into the start of training camp, there's still belief the Raptors are more likely to trade him at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline.
Brown is in the final year of his contract and with the Raptors in the early stages of a rebuild, it doesn't make a ton of sense for him to be a candidate to be re-signed - especially if he's going to demand a big-money contract in free agency. If the plan is for the Raptors to trade Brown at some point before the deadline, that may have gotten a bit more complicated.
According to recent reports, Brown is expected to miss three weeks after undergoing surgery. If that's the timeline for his return to the floor, that means he'll miss the start of training camp and pre-season for the Raptors. And that's if that's the minimum amount of time he misses. He could miss more if the Raptors want to bring him along slowly. Considering this timeline is before the start of the season, I'd say there's no reason to rush him back and that there's a good chance he ends up missing at least a portion of the regular season.
If that does end up being the case, it completely throws a wrench into any potential trade market that may be developing for Brown at the moment.
Will the Toronto Raptors trade Bruce Brown?
Considering the Raptors didn't pull the trigger on a Brown trade during the offseason and the fact that he's now going to be recovering from injury, I think it's a fair question to ask if the team is planning on trading him at all. Brown is a good supporting piece that every playoff team needs to have on its roster. He may be slightly older than Toronto's young core but maybe the team does have a bit of a change of heart regarding his future.
At this point, it's impossible to predict. Even though it probably makes the most sense for the Raptors to trade Brown before he can hit free agency, I also don't believe it's a foregone conclusion anymore. Plus, it's almost impossible to predict how general manager Masai Ujiri will operate in-season.
Brown's injury may have completely changed the course of his future with the Raptors. Who knows, maybe it ends up working out for both sides.