by On Wednesday afternoon, the Indiana Pacers traded for Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks, and 2026 first-round pick. Kira Lewis Jr. will also head to Toronto along with a second-round pick that will be routed to Indiana from the New Orleans Pelicans, who will receive cash considerations.
Siakam is averaging 22.2 points, 6.3 points, and 4.9 assists as well as shooting 52% from the field on the season. For Indiana, the trade represents that the front office believes that the window to win a championship is open and that the time is now. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton has transformed into a superstar and Siakam is the perfect piece to add to a rapidly rising team.
The Pacers offense in the 2023-24 season has been nothing short of remarkable thus far. They rank first in the league in offensive rating (121.7), first in assist ratio (21.0), tied for first in assist to turnover ratio (2.3), first in effective field goal percentage (58.5), and first in pace (103.2). If it stands, their offensive rating would be the best in NBA history. Basically, all of this means that they have a great point guard, they run the floor, and they make a lot of threes. Here is where Siakam comes in: one of Indiana’s few weaknesses on the offensive end is that they struggle to generate offense when Haliburton is off of the floor. While shooters such as guards Buddy Hield and Aaron Nesmith and center Myles Turner have had good, productive years, they’re out there so that Haliburton can get into the lane and find them on the outside. With Siakam in the fold, lots of pressure will go off of Haliburton so that a.) he can recover from his lingering hamstring injury and b.) he can do more off the ball which will make defenses play him differently. Siakam’s on-ball presence will also help to relieve some pressure off of young guard Bennedict Mathurin, who will benefit from less attention from defenses.
Indiana being such a good transition team is also great for Siakam. He stands at 6’8’’ and is known for his athleticism, as many have said that he is the closest thing to Giannis Antetokounmpo that can be found as far as punishing teams in the open floor. He can run and finish with the best of them, allowing Haliburton and Co. to continue to push it with peak effectiveness.
Another key Indiana weakness that Siakam will rectify is the production from the power forward position. So far, the Pacers have started either Obi Toppin or Jalen Smith at the four all year, and neither have been overly beneficial to the team. Now, with Siakam being the upgrade, the offense will be able to do many different and new things. For example, Siakam can be very dangerous in the dunker’s spot and his strong finishing ability will make defenders think twice about leaving him near the basket to help onto Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard cutting through the lane. He is also a great cutter and can run a nasty double pick and roll with Turner as the other screener. Defense’s will have to make another extremely difficult decision with Haliburton attacking the rim, Siakam rolling to the basket, Turner popping, and shooters spaced out wide.
The trade for Siakam and the improved play of the 8th pick in the 2023 draft, Jarace Walker, will additionally provide more flexibility with the types of lineups that can be played, especially defensively. Siakam will play primarily with Turner as his front court mate, but there will be times when Siakam and Walker will be on together with Walker at the five, giving Indiana much more switchability on defense, as well as the promise of even more plays in transition. There could even be times where all three of Siakam, Walker, and Turner are all on together as a jumbo lineup. That thought should terrify opponents defensively as the combined length, speed, and shot-blocking ability could stifle anyone.
One of the few potential pitfalls that can be found on Indiana’s side of the deal is the fact that Siakam will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. If he leaves and the Pacers don’t make a major run in the playoffs, they will have essentially given away a starter in Brown along with a large amount of draft capital for nothing. Luckily, there are rumors that Siakam is very interested in negotiating a contract extension with Indiana (Woj), which would be a best-case scenario.
On Toronto’s side of the deal, they simply just waited too long to trade the star forward. It is one of the few mistakes that Masai Ujiri has made in his time with the Raptors as he waited far too long into Siakam’s expiring deal to pull the trigger. They had not been contenders at all in the years following Kawhi Leonard’s departure and it is almost certain that the return would have been much higher had they traded Siakam even just six months earlier, let alone a couple years ago, which is when trade rumors first started to fly. Indiana should be thrilled that they were able to keep basically all of their young talent such as Mathurin, Nesmith, Walker, Toppin, and Nembhard, who have each taken steps forward in some way this season.
The roads ahead for Toronto and Indiana are wildly different as Toronto seems to be selling their way into a high lottery pick and Indiana has their sights set on a championship for the first time in a long while. Rumors are even starting to fly about Indiana potentially seeking out a third star to pair with Haliburton and Siakam. With a budding core, a good coach in Rick Carlisle, and a superstar point guard, Indiana is turning itself into an ideal destination in the trade and free agency market.
