TORONTO – By now, Bruce Brown knows the drill.

Despite playing for five different teams in seven NBA seasons, last year was a brand new experience for the veteran guard. For the first time in his career, he was hearing his name come up in trade speculation. And it came up a lot.

From the moment he arrived in Toronto as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Pascal Siakam to Indiana last January, Brown was on the block. Nothing personal; he’s a player the Raptors had admired for a while, but they were transitioning into a rebuild and he simply didn’t fit their timeline. With his two-way skill set, championship experience and uniquely structured contract – he had a $23-million team option for this season – there was enough league-wide interest in his services to fuel the rumour mill leading up to the trade deadline.

It could have been flattering, if not for the fact that he was in limbo and living out of a suitcase, his future uncertain. If nothing else, going through it once has made it easier to tune out the noise this time around.

“Last year it was super tough,” the 28-year-old admitted. “I was saying I didn’t care about it, but I did. It was tough, [not] knowing if I was going to be here or not or if I was going to stay in the hotel. But now it’s like it’s part of the business. And through the summer I knew at some point I was going to face this again, just being on an expiring deal and on a young team. But if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’m happy to be here.”

Two weeks out from the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Brown remains the Raptors’ most interesting bargaining chip. The team decided against moving him a year ago but it wasn’t for a lack of interest or offers, just that their asking price – a first-round pick – was too high.

Over the summer, they opted into the final year of his contract rather than creating cap space, hoping that he might recoup some value coming off an injury-riddled season and they could test his market again. It’s no secret that Toronto would love to add to its underwhelming return for Siakam, while turning Brown into an asset or two, even if that ends up being multiple second-round picks instead of a first.

He's done his part. What could have been an awkward situation has played out far more amicably than, say, the Goran Dragic saga of 2021-22 because of Brown’s professionalism. He has said and done........

© TSN