Toronto Raptors’ Bruce Brown undergoes surgery on right knee

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The return on the Pascal Siakam deal that the Raptors and Indiana Pacers pulled off last January keeps being pushed back from the Toronto perspective.

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The latest on Toronto’s return for Siakam sees guard Bruce Brown undergoing a surgery on his right knee earlier this week that pretty much takes him out of action until at least the beginning of the season.

The team said Brown will be re-evaluated in three weeks, which makes missing regular-season time a very real possibility.

Brown was the best known of the names coming back in the deal that send Siakam to Indiana on Jan. 17.

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Siakam was in the final year of his deal, so had the Raptors not moved him when they did, there was a very good chance he could move on and leave them with no return.

Along with Brown the Raptors received guard Kira Lewis Jr., who was moved at the deadline in a package along with one of those 2024 first-round picks that brought Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to Toronto from Utah, and Jordan Nwora, who played sparingly for Toronto before signing with Anadolu Efes of Turkey this past August.

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Toronto did net three first-rounders in the deal as well (one in 2026) although, as mentioned, one of them found its way to Utah in the Olynyk/Agbaji deals.

What it leaves is the soon-to-be-rehabbing Brown and whatever he might bring in a trade and Ja’Kobe Walter, the Baylor product the Raptors selected in the draft, as the only remaining compensation for Siakam still with the team.

Brown appeared in just 34 games last season (11 starts) and averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 26 minutes.

Toronto elected to pick up his $23-million option for the coming season. If the plan all along was to just trade him and free up salary cap space, that still is very much possible, though any return will be affected by the recently performed surgery.

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There was some thought that perhaps Brown could start for the Raptors this year alongside Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl, so this could at least open the door to a starting opportunity for 2023 first-rounder Gradey Dick.

Dick, based on some social-media sleuthing, appears to have put on some muscle mass, but his ability to remain among the starters will be dictated by how much his three-point shooting game has improved.

Brown commanded the kind of contract he did from Indiana based on his key role off the bench for Denver in the 2023 NBA championship run.

But even in this era of huge contracts in the NBA, $23-million per year for a guy who never has averaged more than 11.5 points per game in a season and plays average defence at best is probably an overpay.

Getting out from under it will be on the Raptors front office’s to-do list this season.

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