Trade talks revolving around Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam have reportedly heated up in recent days. One week after the Raptors made the decision to send OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks, the spotlight has turned to Siakam, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Earlier in the evening on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic mentioned that one team in hot pursuit of Siakam was the Sacramento Kings, going as far to say that they were beginning to emerge as a “serious suitor” as Toronto ramped up talks.
On @TheRally: The Raptors are ramping up trade talks surrounding star forward Pascal Siakam, with a Western Conference playoff contender emerging as a serious suitor. pic.twitter.com/bWiB7Q15h7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 5, 2024
But in a reminder of how quickly all of this can change, Charania went on to report that Sacramento made the decision to end talks for the two-time All-Star.
The Sacramento Kings are deciding to pull out of the Pascal Siakam talks, sources say. Things can be fluid, but Kings-Raptors talks are now over. https://t.co/oQtwcbKtjF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2024
It can be tricky to figure out a trade that both satiates Toronto’s desire to get as much back as possible for Siakam that does not include standout second-year forward Keegan Murray, who is almost assuredly off the table in trade talks. But as Charania noted, talks ending now doesn’t necessarily mean that talks are over for good, so we’ll have to wait and see if things change ahead of the trade deadline next month.
Siakam is averaging 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.9 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game this season.
