In an attempt to acquire Bruce Brown, the Toronto Raptors looked for a first-round pick, but ultimately, no deal could be reached.
Perhaps there wasn’t quite as much demand for Bruce Brown as there was.
Take a quick look around the league. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed out, 11 teams had 75% of the tradeable first-round picks heading into Thursday’s trade deadline. Only two of the clubs in contention have an abundance of first-round picks: Oklahoma City and New York.
This explains why just two first-round picks were dealt on Thursday: PJ Washington from the Charlotte Hornets was acquired by Dallas, while the Toronto Raptors sold one pick to the Utah Jazz.
How was Toronto going to handle Brown?
Without a doubt, the Raptors searched the market for a first-round selection. Although Brown was being pursued by New York in exchange for a first-round pick, the Knicks struck a better deal, sending Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks to Detroit in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, and two second-round picks.
Toronto found itself stranded as New York made a turn.
A first-round selection was not something the Los Angeles Lakers were willing to give up. Denver and Milwaukee didn’t offer Toronto future picks or wages that were comparable to lure them into a trade. No one showed up with enough to justify a deal.
Raptors general manager Bobby Webster stated on Thursday, “Had we gotten the offers we wanted for Bruce, if it hit our threshold, we would have done something.”
The Raptors decided against making a move and to wait until the summer, when clubs with more first-round picks could be interested in signing Brown due to his contract option. With his $23 million team option, Toronto can either retain him for the upcoming season or trade him to a team trying to make salary room before free agency begins.
Brown may now make himself at home.
He had been in trade deadline limbo for the last three weeks, with one foot ostensibly out the door. The Raptors are hoping that now that Brown is certain of his whereabouts for the duration of the season, that will alter.
Though it may not have been Toronto’s first choice going into the deadline, holding steady this time made a lot more sense because there wasn’t a deal that was obvious.
