Veteran guard Bruce Brown underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on Thursday and will be reevaluated in three weeks, the Raptors announced in a news release.
Brown will miss most — if not all — of training camp and preseason. Three weeks from this writing would be Oct. 11 and that’s when he’ll be checked out again, not when he’ll be ready to play. The Raptors will head to Montreal for camp from Oct. 1-5, then will stay in Montreal for their preseason opener vs. Washington on Oct. 6. The preseason schedule concludes Oct. 18.
As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes, Brown has been dealing with a right knee injury for the better part of a year, and had hoped that resting and rehabbing over the summer would be a suitable solution. Obviously, that didn’t go as planned. Brown told Lindsay Dunn of CityNews Toronto after the season in April ended that the injury was “very frustrating.”
“It’s been tough,” Brown said. “I mean I really couldn’t bend my knee much I really played on one leg the entire time. I just wasn’t myself since December, but next year I will be fine.”
After playing a crucial role off the bench for the Nuggets during their 2022-23 championship season, Brown drew significant interest as a free agent last summer and eventually signed a two-year, $45M contract with the Pacers. Indiana sent him to Toronto in January as part of a trade package for Pascal Siakam.
In 67 total appearances (44 starts) for the Pacers and Raptors last season, Brown averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .478/.323/.824. The 6-foot-4 wing is considered a solid, versatile perimeter defender who is a good fit next to more ball-dominant players on offense.
The Raptors picked up their $23M team option on Brown’s contract at the end of June. The 28-year-old, who has been the subject of several trade rumors since Toronto acquired him, will be a free agent again next summer.