The Toronto Raptors championship era is officially over. The team traded Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first round picks (one being Indiana’s own and the other likely the worse of the Thunder and Clippers picks), and a 2026 top 4 protected first round pick, Kira Lewis Jr. is also headed to Toronto from the Pelicans, this takes the Pelicans out of the luxury tax. The Pascal Siakam era in Toronto is over as the Pacers have pushed some of their chips into the middle of the table.
This is a good trade for the Raptors, 3 picks is good value and that 2026 pick is a real pick that they can use in a trade if they so choose. Also, Bruce Brown is good. He is a winning player that I think they should keep long term, though Masai Ujiri said they are not done making trades. A starting 5 of Immanuel Quickley/RJ Barrett/Bruce Brown/Scottie Barnes/Jakob Poeltl is one that intrigues me and their bench of Dennis Schröder, Gary Trent Jr., and others is one that is a good team that can make the Play-In. Brown provides Toronto one of the most versatile players in the NBA. He can be both the screen and roll guy and ball handler in the pick and roll, he can make some open 3’s, and he is a very good defensive player who can give other teams guards fits. He can be another guy to run pick and roll with Scottie Barnes and can be a secondary ball-handler for Toronto. Yet, Toronto is likely not done as Ujiri mentioned. As I mentioned Bruce Brown is good and a good team might want to trade for him. The Lakers, Clippers, 76ers, Heat, and Kings are all teams that could get involved for Brown. My favorite fit is the Clippers, Brown is better than Terance Mann and could walk in and play Mann’s role for the Clippers though I am not sure L.A. has the assets to get a deal done. Toronto also got 3 first round picks in this deal, including 2 this season. The Raptors traded their pick this season to the Spurs for Poeltl (which has turned into a disaster of a trade) so they needed to add picks, they now have 3 in (likely) the top 31 of the draft (the 2 picks in this deal and Detroit’s second rounder from the Knicks) and that is another key for them they need to get younger around Quickley, Barrett, and Barnes. Flexibility is something that will be important for Toronto as they retool this roster because it does not look like they want to do a full rebuild.
This is a trade that makes the Pacers better and blaming a team for wanting to get better is not something I like doing. That does not change the fact that Siakam can be a free agent so this is a risk. However, I would expect Indiana to re-sign him to a max extension, which is the main part of the deal that worries me. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Siakam can sign a 5yr/$247 million deal this summer with Indiana which is a lot and you can see why Toronto balked at the idea of paying him that money, or potentially more. Yet, this is Indiana and free agency is not an option for them so in order to add a 2nd star next to Tyrese Haliburton they had to make a trade or draft someone. The contract scares me but this is a good move for Indiana.
Siakam immediately becomes the Pacers 2nd best player behind Tyrese Haliburton. As I have mentioned previously, his numbers are down across the board (22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists) but this is an awesome fit. They had recently taken Obi Toppin out of the starting 5 in favor of Jalen Smith and had been starting Tyrese Haliburton/Bruce Brown/Aaron Nesmith/Jalen Smith/Myles Turner, this trade allows for Siakam to slide in for Smith and forces one of Buddy Heild or Andrew Nembhard (I would assume Nembhard) to start for Brown. Indiana needs secondary ball handling and creation in their starting 5 to help Haliburton, Siakam provides that. Indiana needs another really good scorer of the basketball, Siakam provides that. Indiana needs another big wing to play defense, Siakam provides that. He makes them better to a point that they should be taken seriously by the top of the Eastern Conference, you can’t take the Pacers out if you sleep walk throw a series. Siakam’s ability to get downhill and to the basket will also be highlighted extremely well because of the amount of shooting the Pacers have. Instead of sharing the court with Precious Achiuwa, 27% from 3, and Chris Boucher, 33% from 3, Siakam will be on the court with Buddy Hield, 38% from 3, and Aaron Nesmith, 46% from 3, not to mention replacing Jakob Poeltl with Myles Turner. That is going to open up so many lanes for Siakam to get to the basket so much easier than he has had to do in Toronto, because of that I think there is a chance Siakam is going to play the best ball we have ever seen from him in the NBA. The Pacers had a need at the 4 and there are few that fit that role better for their team than Pascal Siakam does.
No, I do not think that this trade makes the Indiana Pacers a threat to win the Eastern Conference or the NBA Championship but it makes them better and it makes them very frisky. While a $49.4 million per year for Pascal Siakam scares me, this is a good trade for the Pacers for two main reasons. It makes them better and it keeps their flexibility into future years because they did not trade the farm when it comes to draft capital. This is also a great fit and for those reasons I really like this trade for the Pacers meanwhile I am interested to see what comes next for the Raptors.
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