Pascal Siakam Traded to the Indiana Pacers
It seems like just yesterday we were all watching the Toronto Raptors being crowned NBA Champions of the 2019 NBA season. Unfortunately, that one finals run would be all the organization had in them as finals MVP Kawhi Leonard would leave the team and sign with the Los Angeles Clippers on a 3-year, 103-million-dollar contract that summer. Since then, all the other valuable pieces on the 2019 championship Raptors team roster have also departed from the team such as Kyle Lowry being traded to the Miami Heat, Danny Green no longer being in the NBA, Fred Vanvleet signing with the Houston Rockets, and Serge Ibaka now playing overseas in Germany. With the recent move by the Raptors to pull in shooting guard RJ Barrett and shooting guard Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round draft pick from the New York Knicks for small forward OG Anunoby, power forward Precious Achiuwa, and point guard Malachi Flynn, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Siakam got traded and that is exactly what happened as the Raptors are beginning the start of their rebuilding process with all of these recent front office moves.
Earlier today it was announced that two-time NBA all-star, power forward Pascal Siakam, has been traded to the Indiana Pacers. He was packaged in a three-team deal that will send Siakam to Indiana and small forward Bruce Brown, small forward Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks to the Toronto Raptors. The deal will also involve the New Orleans Pelicans sending point guard Kira Lewis Jr. to the Raptors and a second-round pick to the Pacers. This trade will now give Siakam his first chance to play on a team he was not drafted by, as he joins one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference in the Indiana Pacers. While the main promising piece of this trade for the Raptors is the three first-round picks, they also add a nice piece in small forward Bruce Brown who is averaging 12 points a game this season and coming off a historic finals last season with the championship Denver Nuggets.
Siakam was selected twenty-seventh overall in the 2016 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. In his nearly seven and a half seasons with Toronto, Siakam has averaged around 17 points a game and 7 rebounds a game. This season in his thirty-nine games played so far, he has averaged approximately 22 points a game. While the Pacers already have one of the best young guards in the league with Tyrese Haliburton on their roster, with Pascal Siakam they add another all-star caliber player who will be a huge factor for the organization. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton and center Myles Turner, averaging around 24 and 17 points a game, have been incredible for the Pacers so far this season but don’t have the talent alone to carry Indiana deep into the playoffs. With Siakiam on the court though, the Indiana Pacers will now be a contending team in the Eastern Conference, it’s just a matter of whether or not they have what it takes to beat a team like the Boston Celtics, or the Milwaukee Bucks come playoff time. While the answer to that question is probably no at least for this season, we shall see come playoff time. Do the Pacers have a chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals?
