During talks, Billups knew Irving was unhappy

The Toronto Raptors are “very motivated” to trade Bruce Brown Jr. before the trade deadline, sources tell Jake Fischer. Brown is on a $23 million expiring salary, but hasn’t played as well as when he was a critical part of the Denver Nuggets’ title run in 2023. Brown also missed the first 31 games of the season with a right knee injury.

When the Raptors traded Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers last season, Brown was the biggest matching salary component of the trade. Brown signed a two-year, $45 million deal with the Pacers during the 2023 offseason.

In nine games this season, Brown is averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18.2 minutes.