Pascal Siakam was expected to be one of the big dominoes of the NBA’s trade deadline coming up in a few weeks.
Now, he’s off the board.
Siakam has reportedly been traded in a three-team deal by the Raptors to the Pacers in exchange for Bruce Brown and a handful of first-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Pelicans also snuck into the deal, too, sending Kira Lewis to Toronto and a second-round pick to the Pacers.
The Pacers were considered one of the teams heading into the deadline that seemed prime to make a big move. That big move has come a bit earlier than anticipated.
BREAKING: The Indiana Pacers are finalizing a trade to acquire All-Star F Pascal Siakam in a deal that will send Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks to the Toronto Raptors. New Orleans will be a third team in deal, sending Kira Lewis to the Raptors.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2024
Let’s dive into trade grades.
The details
Here’s where everyone is going, according to Woj:
The Pacers get: Pascal Siakam
The Raptors get: Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis, three first-round picks (two 2024 picks, one 2026 pick)
The Pelicans get: Nothing but tax relief.
Now let’s jump into grades.
The Pacers
Indiana is getting a legitimate All-Star caliber player here in Pascal Siakam.
He’s slid under a lot of radars over these last couple of seasons because of how middling Toronto has been. But Siakam has remained one of the better two-way forces in the NBA. He’s averaging 22.2 points per game on 52 percent shooting from the field so far this season. His 31 percent mark from 3-point range will likely see a boost from playing with Tyrese Haliburton and getting easy shots off of his playmaking ability.
On top of getting an All-Star, Indiana managed to keep all of its prospects and developmental young players in Benn Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and Jarace Walker. It only had to give up Bruce Brown, but Indy likely won’t feel that pain between Nembhard being reinserted into his previous role and Siakam’s playmaking ability as a forward.
It took considerable draft capital to make this happen for the Pacers, but it’s worth it. Especially if Siakam stays this offseason, which Wojnarowski is indicating he seems likely to do.
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
This is a great move for Indiana. The Pacers should be a legitimate threat for the East now.
GRADE: A
The Raptors
With this move, the Raptors’ championship era just breathed its last gasp of air. Every member of that team’s starting lineup is officially out the door. Chris Boucher is the only player left on the Raptors from that team.
It’s been a long time coming, however. Masai Ujiri seemed ready to move on from the Pascal Siakam experience. Siakam was obviously due for an extension this summer, but Ujiri didn’t seem interested. Instead, he seemed to actually call Siakam out whenever asked about it.
So, now, here we are. Both parties have officially moved on. The Raptors got three future firsts out of the deal:
— The Pacers’ 2024 first-round pick
— The least favorable of the Jazz, Rockets, Clippers and Thunder’s 2024 first-round picks
— The Pacers 2026 first-round pick
That’s not bad at all. They also get a player in Bruce Brown, who is ready to contribute right away.
Kira Lewis being the only prospect in the deal is troubling — especially considering what the Pacers had in young talent. Not getting one of Nembhard, Mathurin or Walker hurts. But, all in all, this is a solid move for Toronto.
GRADE: B
The Pelicans
For the Pelicans, moving off Kira Lewis was just something the team did to get under the NBA’s luxury tax. That’s all. It doesn’t matter for any other reason. That’s the only thing New Orleans got out of the deal.
I would give the Pelicans an F for not finding more help, but instead of being mean let’s just call it incomplete here.
GRADE: Meh, whatever.
