Grade the Trade: Pacers ditch Bruce Brown for defensive ace in mock deal

Grade the Trade: Indiana Pacers trade Bruce Brown to Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby in mock deal: Raptors grade

As noted, the Toronto Raptors currently find themselves stuck in the middle. They aren’t quite good enough to make a deep playoff run, but they aren’t bad enough to consistently land a top pick in the draft.

Plus, while rumors have indicated the Raptors’ potential willingness to trade Pascal Siakam, the All-Star has stated that he won’t re-sign anywhere but Toronto.

The deal suggested by Zach Buckley would likely only be made if the Raptors decide to embrace a rebuild, and even if they choose to take that route, they still may want to keep OG Anunoby.

He’s only 26 years old and would pair well with Scottie Barnes in their new-look frontcourt. That said, the return they’d be getting here isn’t awful.

Last season, the rumor was that Toronto was looking to get three first-round picks in return for Anunoby, but two future firsts from the Indiana Pacers wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

However, trading for these picks would be a gable. By the time they convey, the Pacers will either be a solid playoff team or out of the picture, depending on how things go with Haliburton at the helm and if he decides to leave after his next deal. (The former seems more likely.)

Bruce Brown probably wouldn’t be of major interest to the Raptors, though, as he would fit best on a win-now roster where he can play a complementary role to stars.

But if the Raptors did make a deal such as this one, they could simply flip Brown for more assets. That would just create more work for them, though, and they wouldn’t be getting any young pieces back in the deal.

Grade: B-

Potential starting lineup: Dennis Schroder, Gradey Dick, Bruce Brown, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl