Target #4: Bruce Brown
The Toronto Raptors decided to pick up Bruce Brown's 23 million dollar team option, meaning they can use him as a trade chip (or keep him on the roster) if they choose to do so. 2023-24 was a down year for the soon-to-be 28-year-old, but he's only about 14 months removed from being an integral part of the Denver Nuggets championship run.
Brown arguably gives you the best blend of all these facets we've been discussing of any of these players. In 2022-23, he hit 35.8% of his threes. And last year, he converted on 82.4% of his free throws (a strong indicator of a player's shooting prowess). He's also a confident attacker off the dribble, placing in the 64th percentile or higher in drives per 36 in each of the last two years.
On defense, Brown has also been a Swiss Army Knife. In four of his first six seasons, he's placed in the 74th percentile in DEF EPM.What this metric is picking up on is his ability to defend at the point-of-attack (see clip below), create turnovers, and provide positional rim protection. In his career, he's had four seasons where his steal rate has been in the 77th percentile or higher leaguewide and three years where his block rate has been in the 67th percentile or higher.
Like with Stewart, a clean swap between Brown/Huerter works financially for both teams. While I think Brown is the more valuable playoff player, I think the two players hold similar value because Brown is owed more money this year (roughly six million dollars) and is set to be a free agent in 2025. So, there is no guarantee that he will stay with the Kings after this year.