The Pascal Siakam era is over. The Toronto Raptors are sending Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks. The New Orleans Pelicans are also involved in the deal by sending Kira Lewis Jr. to Toronto and a future second-round pick to Indiana. The Pelicans traded Lewis to avoid paying the tax this year.
What does the Siakam trade mean for both teams?
This trade means it’s Scottie Barnes‘ team now. The team is ready to build the team around Barnes. It’s not necessarily a rebuild because this team can still get a spot in the playoffs this season. However, it is building the Raptors to become contenders in the future.
Fans of the Raptors who were expecting a deal similar to the O.G. Anunoby trade will be disappointed. In this trade, the Raptors got three players under expiring deals. Lewis is the only one I see staying long-term because he’s a young player. He hasn’t been great with the Pelicans, maybe he’ll play better with a new team.
I can see Toronto trading Brown before the offseason to get more assets or decline his team option to create space. Once the Raptors create cap space, I can see them using it to re-sign Immanuel Quickley. I also don’t see the Raptors re-signing Nwora right now.
But the main reason Toronto agreed to this deal is because of the three first-round picks. The Raptors will now have two first-round picks instead of potentially getting none. Toronto has their pick but that could go to the San Antonio Spurs if the pick is outside of the top six.
For the Pacers, they get another All-Star to play alongside Tyrese Haliburton. The duo of Siakam and Haliburton make Indiana one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. And they got Siakam without gutting their roster.
It would’ve been nice if Toronto got Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, or Jalen Smith in the deal. The Pacers did not want to give any of those players up. It’s expected that Siakam will re-sign with Indiana. But if there’s a chance he leaves in the offseason, the Pacers still have their young core plus plenty of cap space to improve the roster.
This trade benefits both sides. Even though the Raptors got an underwhelming deal for Siakam, this trade shows that the team is ready to give the keys to Barnes. For the Pacers, this trade means that they’re ready to compete in the East.
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