The Trade

SAC: Bruce Brown, Garrett Temple

TOR: Kevin Heurter, Davion Mitchell, 2028 First Round Pick

The Reasoning

Kings: With a playoff push in their sights, the Kings need to do all they can to build a team capable of handling the pressures of playoff basketball. Last season, they lost in 7 to the Golden State Warriors because they couldn't contain Steph Curry and allowed him to drop 50 in game 7. This season, they haven't been able to contain anybody. They are currently a bottom-9 defensive unit but a top-7 offensive unit. This team is crying out for a leader on the defensive end and a glue guy that can keep the offense humming. Davion Mitchell was supposed to be the answer to this problem and while defensively he is incredible, he's been one of the worst offensive players in basketball this season. This means Mike Brown cannot trust him with enough minutes for him to make a sizeable impact on that end of the floor. Enter Bruce Brown. Arguably the best glue guy in basketball, Brown was one of the biggest contributors in the Nuggets title win last year. He's a fantastic defender, a great rebounder and possesses the dog mentality that every team wants its players to have. He does all the hard stuff that no one else at his size is willing to do. He's one of those players that can win you a playoff game in just a moment of pure effort and toughness. He's exactly what Sacramento needs at this point in their teams evolution into contenders. They replace the defense of Mitchell like for like while getting someone with championship experience and much more all round game and the loss of Heurter doesn't impact too much given how many spot up shooters and wings they already possess.

Raptors: Masai Ujiri has done a great job so far getting premier value for OG Anunoby and star Pascal Siakam. He's shown a preference for more players than picks in his past trades, moreso highlighted in the Anunoby deal. Some of the big issues with this squad currently is the lack of reliable floor spacing and size on the wing. They currently rank bottom-4 in 3's made and bottom-8 in 3P%. The introductions of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have improved this aspect but they need more capable, consistent shooting from their wings. Enter Kevin Heurter. The 6'7 guard is a career 38% 3-point shooter and although he is prone to cold streaks, he is one of the most reliable shooters available today. His size makes him a perfect fit to put between Barrett and Barnes in the front court so Trent Jr can return to the bench and try to provide a scoring punch from there. He's a reliable 3&D option for a team that's been crying out for one. Davion Mitchell replaces the POA defense left behind by Brown and gives him the opportunity to get more minutes on a team with less expectations. And of course, a future 1st round pick to add to their treasure chest.