After being eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham, signaling that their performance just wasn’t good enough last season. This led to a summer of hope for fans, with Lakers trade rumors hyping up a blockbuster-type addition. Yet, a significant roster move never came.

One player who’s been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers dating back to last season is Toronto Raptors G/F Bruce Brown. With the Raptors seemingly preparing for a rebuild after moving on from OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet over the past year, having an expensive 27-year-old role player may not make much sense, even if he’s great at his job.

However, Brown has a $27 million expiring contract, and many teams, including the Lakers, could see this as a very valuable asset. Not to mention the on-court contributions the versatile former NBA Champion provides.

Meanwhile, according to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, the Lakers are indeed interested in trading for Brown once again.

“The Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are two teams that showed interest in Brown last season, sources said, and Los Angeles maintains interest in him this offseason.” – Brett Siegel on Lakers’ interest in Bruce Brown

The Lakers have also been open to trading D’Angelo Russell this offseason. His expiring $18.7M contract provides a great starter point in trade negotiations, but the Raptors may not be interested in the scoring guard either, which means a third team may be needed to facilitate a trade.