Getty LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is defended by Bruce Brown #11 of the Toronto Raptors.
The Los Angeles Lakers have revisited trade talks with the Toronto Raptors for Bruce Brown, according to LA Daily’s Anthony Irwin.
However, the Raptors’ asking price for Brown remains high.
“Toronto picked up Brown’s team option for $23 million with the intent to move him this summer and is asking for a first-rounder as well. Brown’s contract expires after this season,” Irwin wrote on July 3.
The Lakers’ interest in Brown dates back to last offseason when he left the Denver Nuggets after winning a championship in 2023 for a big payday. He played a key role in the Nuggets’ win over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals during their championship run.
Brown parlayed that with a massive two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, who beat several playoff contenders, including the Lakers, for his services.
The Lakers again pursued him at the trade deadline, but the Pacers used Brown’s balloon payment contract as the salary ballast in the Pascal Siakam trade. Ultimately, the Lakers stood pat at the trade deadline, hesitant to meet the Raptors’ asking price of one first-round pick.
“Masai Ujiri has developed a reputation of his own as one of the best executives in the league. One doesn’t get to that point by losing very many negotiations, and on multiple occasions, he and Pelinka have stared each other down and eventually pushed away from the table,” Irwin wrote.
The Lakers remain active in the trade market and have been linked to several players. Aside from Brown, the Lakers have held trade talks with the Portland Trail Blazers about Jerami Grant, the Brooklyn Nets about Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith and the Washington Wizards about Kyle Kuzma, according to Irwin.
Lakers’ Most Productive Trade Talk
If the Lakers are to surrender a first-round pick, it could be for a reunion with Kyle Kuzma.
“Among Portland, Brooklyn, Toronto and Washington, sources close to the team say talks have been most productive with Washington,” Irwin wrote on July 3.
Kuzma spent his first four seasons in Los Angeles and won a championship with the Lakers in the 2020 NBA Bubble in Orlando. He was shipped to Washington in the Russell Westbrook trade which backfired.
In the nation’s capital, Kuzma blossomed into a reliable 20-point scorer.
The 28-year-old Kuzma is coming off his most productive season as the main star of a lottery team, averaging career-highs of 22.2 points on 46.3% shooting and 4.2 assists while tallying 6.6 rebounds per game.
Washington has also set a high asking price for Kuzma, which would require the Lakers to give up their remaining draft capital, according to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto.
“Given the recent trades of Mikal Bridges and Dejounte Murray, it would likely take multiple first-round picks for the Wizards to consider trading Kuzma, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote on July 2.
Lakers Likely to Lose DeMar DeRozan to Division Rival
After the talks between the Lakers and DeMar DeRozan‘s camp have stalled, their Pacific division rival Sacramento Kings have emerged as the frontrunners to land the six-time NBA All-Star wing, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“I think Sacramento right now is the team to watch,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN SportsCenter on July 5.
The Kings would need a third team in a sign-and-trade scenario with the Chicago Bulls, Wojnarowski added.
“While [the Bulls] are certainly willing to facilitate [a sign-and-trade] helping DeMar DeRozan get more than the midlevel exception on a team that doesn’t have a cap space, they don’t want to take back contracts,” Wojnarowski said.
The 34-year-old DeRozan was the Bulls’ leading scorer last season, averaging 24.0 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 79 games.
Before LeBron James agreed to a two-year, $104 million max deal to return to the Lakers, he was willing to take a paycut for DeRozan. However, DeRozan is seeking more than the $12.9 million non-taxpayer full midlevel exception, which James would have opened up with a hometown discount.