With OG Anunoby already shipped out of town, all eyes will be on Pascal Siakam as the NBA trade deadline draws nearer. Toronto (13-20) is far from being only a move away from contention, meaning Masai Ujiri & Co. have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks if they want to position the franchise for success in 2024-25.
With their 5 year grace period following the NBA championship officially coming to a close this year, fans will be seeking results from the Raps in relatively short order. After winning it all in 2019, the Raptors are 182-159, and will be looking to retool via trade, and likely a high lottery pick in the summer.
With that in mind, if Toronto does opt to move on from their 29 year old forward, here are some possible landing spots where Siakam could end up.
Dallas Mavericks
At 19-15, the Mavericks are sitting 7th in the Western Conference and at risk of wasting yet another highly productive season from Luka Doncic. The 24 year old is averaging 33.4pts/8.3reb/9.4ast a night, but can’t do it all himself.
Kyrie was brought in to lessen the scoring burden on Doncic, but injuries and inconsistent play have him posting his lowest scoring output since 2015-16. Enter, Siakam.
According to Marc Stein Dallas has already “registered some exploratory trade interest” in the Raps big man, and confirmed the club is looking for an upgrade at PF. But it’s unlikely that Dallas wants to part with a young piece like Dereck Lively II to get a deal across the finish line so it would have to be at the right price.
The 6’8″ forward won’t be confused for a lock down wing anytime soon, but his length and positional versatility will go a long way towards helping the Mavs leaky defense. Currently ranked 23rd in the league in defensive rating, having a forward that can create his own shot and cover multiple positions should be at the top of the Mavericks wish list heading into the trade deadline.
Atlanta Hawks
Where there’s smoke there’s usually fire, and Atlanta hasn’t made much of an attempt to hide their interest in the Cameroonian. That being said, there’s two main stumbling blocks with a potential Siakam to Atlanta deal:
1)Atlanta is only a half game better than Toronto at the moment at 13-19, and could become sellers themselves if they can’t turn things around in short order.
2)With Immanuel Quickley now north of the border, the building blocks of a Dejounte Murray focused deal suddenly might not be as appealing to Toronto.
It’s hard to picture Ujiri being thrilled with the proposition of giving up Siakam for some combination of Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter plus picks and prospects. But then again if you’re to believe the rumours, then the Raps front office may have left a better deal on the table last year by not moving OG Anunoby at the trade deadline, so “settling” isn’t something that can be ruled out altogether.
The only way this deal makes sense is if the Hawks can keep Murray, Trae Young, and Siakam together for a 2nd half playoff push. But as the trade deadline draws nearer, this seems more like an Atlanta “want” than anything that will truly materialize.
Indiana Pacers
Indiana was the talk of the league with their in-season tournament run, but have cooled off considerably since then. That being said, the biggest takeaway from their tournament journey came in the finals where their lack of size, especially at the wings, got exposed by the Lakers.
Is Siakam a magic bullet to cure the Pacers woes? No. But much like a potential Mavericks deal, Indiana would be boosted considerably by adding his length to their starting lineup. Already owners of the best offense in the league, Siakam could push the Pacers over the edge by helping them turn games into track meets and hoping their lack of size doesn’t hurt them too much on the other end of the floor.
The fun part here is how Toronto could essentially form their own mini Canadian national team with a potential Pacers trade. Coming back the other way could be a package featuring Canadians Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin, plus Jarace Walker and some picks. An injection of youth would fit in well with Quickley (24), RJ Barrett (23), and Scottie Barnes (22) to effectively “re-tool” as opposed to “rebuilding” in Toronto.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.