For the past few years, the Toronto Raptors have come up as a potential seller going into the trade deadline, but as this year’s round of rumblings began, there was skepticism they’d actually make trades after years of balking at offers. However, when OG Anunoby got dealt to the Knicks, it indicated the Raptors had finally chosen its long-term direction, looking to get younger and build around Scottie Barnes.
As such, Pascal Siakam’s future now shifts into focus, but trading him is made difficult by the fact that he is widely expected to enter free agency this summer, no matter where he’s traded. Now, a team trading for him would have an inside track at retaining him simply by acquiring his Bird rights — which would allow them to go over the cap to sign him — but Siakam’s camp has made it clear they won’t be making any promises about his future or entertaining short-term extension options. Even so, Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported this week that it’s “expected” that Toronto will move Siakam by the deadline, but finding the right fit and figuring out what his trade value is, exactly, on an expiring is a tricky proposition.
The Indiana Pacers are a known Siakam suitor (Adrian Wojnarowski made that clear this week) and there are a handful of other teams that have been rumored to have interest in him in the past or at least make sense in terms of on-court fits for the former All-Star forward. However, Siakam, being a non-shooter, isn’t a guy who is going to command interest from the entire league. There are some teams like the Heat that would not make a lot of sense to add Siakam, as you’d end up with a lot of the spacing issues Toronto has had recently with three non-shooters in your frontcourt with Siakam, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo. That said, for teams that could use more length, defense, and rim pressure, Siakam could be had at a relatively low price (with the risk, of course, that he’s a half-season rental).
I can’t even pretend to know what Siakam will actually command, and it will really come down to whether multiple teams get into the mix and Toronto can pit offers against each other to pry the best picks out of teams. However, with Anunoby not fetching a first, it’s hard to expect Siakam to net them a ton in terms of picks. That said, Siakam’s $38 million deal can allow the Raptors to take on a bit more long-term money in order to get better picks. With that in mind, let’s look at the teams that make sense as Siakam destinations and what their potential offers may look like
Indiana Pacers
A potential Pacers offer would look something like Buddy Hield, Jarace Walker, and Jalen Smith plus a first round pick. If the Pacers are looking to accelerate their build after seeing what they’ve been able to do over the first half of this year, moving Walker (who has upside as a defender, but needs some time before he can be a helpful player on a winning team) could present the Raptors with an intriguing young player for the future. Hield has been on the trade block forever in Indiana, but he’s certainly valuable to them given how he helps space the floor. That said, they don’t have a lot of options for making the money work and I feel like they’re more likely to include Hield than Bruce Brown or Myles Turner, who are their only other big money options. For the Raptors, this would definitely be a play for the future, and I could also see them looking to turn this into a three-team deal to redirect Hield to a contender by the deadline if they’re still way down the standings in the East.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have been connected to Siakam forever and are expected to make some kind of move before the deadline, but I’d be fairly surprised if it was for the Raptors forward. That’s because making the money work for Siakam requires a combination of two of De’Andre Hunter, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, or Dejounte Murray. After trading for Immanuel Quickley, it’s hard to imagine Murray being of interest for Toronto, Capela is redundant with Jakob Poeltl (on almost an identical contract, to boot), and the Hawks probably won’t want to lose one of their few floor spacers in Bogdanovic. As such, an Atlanta trade would likely need to involve a third team that was interested in either Capela or Murray, and that’s always easier said than done. Still, it’s possible they find a way to rekindle talks (if Knicks-Anunoby discussions can be reignited, why not here too?) but it likely needs another party to get involved and for the Raptors to be higher on Hunter than most.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are constantly connected to trade rumors, but it’s hard to figure out exactly how interested they are in taking a big swing. They were supposed to be the team that made a splashy signing or move this summer, but instead chose to be patient and run it back. That means they’re still in position for an upgrade, but aren’t willing to part with their best young players to do so. It’s possible that Siakam’s market value has dipped low enough for the Kings to get involved and nab him without Keegan Murray (who is, by all reports, untouchable in talks). Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter would work financially, and one can argue Huerter is redundant with Murray and Malik Monk in the rotation. The question is what draft capital they’d be willing to attach to that, as Huerter could be a nice fit in Toronto as a floor spacer, but it’s not exactly a move that shifts their timeline back in line with Scottie Barnes with both Huerter and Barnes having two more years left on their deals.
Golden State Warriors
There’s certainly a lot of chatter around the Warriors recently, and not much of it is good for the four-time champs. That could push them to exploring some bigger moves, and trading for Siakam would certainly shake things up if they were looking to really shake up that roster. The Raptors could continue bringing back Canadian stars with Andrew Wiggins, while looking to nab a young wing in Jonathan Kuminga (who has expressed his frustration with the Warriors, again) — the Warriors would also need to include Gary Payton II to make money work in this concept. The Warriors don’t have a ton in the way of draft capital to give out, but if the Raptors still believed in Kuminga’s potential, they might see him as the best young player they could get back in a trade. The question is whether adding Wiggins and Kuminga would help them with their logjam on the wing or present some of the same problems they’ve had recently.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons have also been floated as a Siakam suitor, which requires Toronto to be interested in the young players Detroit is willing to offer. I am not going to pretend to understand Troy Weaver’s team-building strategy or what guys on his roster he values the most, but there are some interesting offers to be made. However, Detroit would have to be very confident in their ability to sign Siakam this summer and I’m not sure how they could feel strongly about that — and I also don’t know if I’d be confident he’s the right veteran star to pair with Cade Cunningham in the first place. The Pistons do have the expiring veteran salaries (Joe Harris, Monte Morris, Alec Burks) to pair with their youngsters to make money work, but Toronto might only be moved by the inclusion of Ausar Thompson and I would be surprised if Detroit moved him in his rookie year.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs have also been floated as a Siakam landing spot given their need on the wing, although Marc Stein’s noted their interest might be overstated. The real problem is, while Siakam makes plenty of sense in Dallas, the Mavs don’t have a really good package to offer for him. It’d have to be something like Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber or Grant Williams, and Richaun Holmes plus a pick, which takes some depth away from Dallas and doesn’t really provide any upside for the Raptors long-term. I think the Mavs would love Siakam but the reality is, there’s not an obvious package of players and picks that makes sense on either side to make that happen.