After Toronto's Blockbuster Trade, Does Bruce Brown Make Sense For Thunder?

Oklahoma City has been thrown into a handful of trade conversations as the deadline creeps closer. It makes sense considering the Thunder's red hot start to the season.

This team feels like it's far ahead of schedule and taking the NBA by storm. After over exceeding in a big way a season ago, Oklahoma City is in the midst of doing the exact same thing. Instead of shooting for the play-in again, one of the NBA's youngest rosters is currently on pace for the No. 2 seed and a playoff berth.

There's still plenty of holes in the lineup and places where the Thunder could use help. This is a good team on paper, but far from a perfect team.

The first bombshell trade of the NBA season took place on Wednesday, as Pascal Siakam was dealt from the Toronto Raptors to the Indiana Pacers. Most of the deal was centered around draft capital, but the Pacers also sent back a sought after role player in Bruce Brown.

Brown helped the Nuggets win the NBA Finals a season ago and received a big, bot short-term, pay day with the Pacers. Now that the Raptors seem to be committed to a young core and developing on a new timeline, could Brown be rerouted for extra compensation?

If so, the Thunder will certainly be linked. While it would certainly help the Thunder's bench and give Oklahoma City a true role player, it might not be the perfect move for the team.

Sam Presti would likely have to dangle a first round pick or two, but that's not the problem. Brown is only 6-foot-4, and although he certainly plays bigger than that, Oklahoma City has a surplus of undersized wings that can play up or down. He doesn't fix the Thunder's biggest need, which is depth in the front court.

How much of an upgrade is brown from players currently on the roster, like Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williams? If he plays guard, he's likely taking minutes away from Isaiah Joe or Cason Wallace. He would certainly give the Thunder a boost, and would make the team slightly better, but there's likely a better trade out there if OKC is looking to be active.

At his height, Brown is a solid rebounder, but he's only shooting 32.7% from 3-point range this season. He's a great glue guy and fits the Thunder's mold as a three-and-D hustle player, but he seems a bit redundant on the current roster.

At the right value, bringing Brown in could be beneficial, but trading for a backup big man would probably be a better option.

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