Pascal Siakam is headed to Indiana. After years on the trade block, the Raptors finally moved the former All-Star forward ahead of this February’s trade deadline, as Toronto embarks on its rebuild in full around Scottie Barnes.
In return, the Raptors got Bruce Brown and three first round picks from the Pacers, who add Siakam to bridge the gap on the wing between star guard Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner. There’s an obvious fit with Siakam in Indiana, as they were in desperate need of a high-level defender on the wing. While Brown is an elite Swiss-army knife defender who can elevate a group, the Pacers need a strong individual defender to build a structure around, and they’ll hope Siakam gives them that.
The holdup on Siakam trade talks with Indiana and around the league leading up to this deal was about the asking price versus the lack of long-term control over Siakam’s contract. He can be a free agent this summer and it was made abundantly clear over the past year that he would not sign an extension with a new team once traded to them. However, on Wednesday after the Pacers traded for him, Siakam’s agent made clear to Marc Spears that Pascal is excited about the prospects of playing in Indiana, with Woj reporting Siakam’s “excited” and wants to work out a long-term deal this summer.
“I’m excited that Pascal is getting a first class opportunity with the Pacers, being paired with Tyrese and Myles and being coached by a great coach in Rick Carlisle. His future their looks bright there,” Pascal Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar tells @andscape about trade to Pacers.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 17, 2024
Pascal Siakam is excited about the deal to the Pacers and expected to be eager to work out a new contract with the franchise this summer, sources tell ESPN. Siakam can be a free agent in July. https://t.co/gFJGXwHJCU
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2024
The Pacers certainly wanted to know they would at least be strongly considered by Siakam this summer before forking over three picks to the Raptors for him. While it’s not an absolute guarantee, this kind of statement from Siakam’s agent seems to show there’s an understanding in Indiana of what Siakam wants from a contract this summer and they’ve given Siakam an indication they’re willing to meet that. We’ll find all of that out once July 1 hits, but in the meantime the Pacers will try to cement their place in the East playoff race and show Siakam they’re a great basketball fit for him long-term.
