The Toronto Raptors are reportedly trading Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team deal, acquiring Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks from Indiana and Kira Lewis from the New Orleans Pelicans. One of the 2024 picks is Indiana’s own, as is the 2026 pick. The other 2024 pick is reportedly the worst of Utah/Houston/Clippers/OKC.
Karalis’ analysis:
This is a no-brainer move for the Indiana Pacers. I prefer to look at this as a glorified free agent signing, with Siakam replacing the newly-signed Brown. There was a good amount of draft capital involved with the three picks, but with the Pacers being a potential playoff team for the foreseeable future and the non-Pacers pick clearly headed for the end of the first round as well, those picks may not net game-changing players.
The Pacers paid the premium because they're not a free-agent destination for All-NBA/All-Star-caliber players, which Siakam has been. They needed a big wing and secondary ball handler to take some of the pressure off Tyrese Haliburton and help defend the bigger wings they’ll meet along their playoff path (two of which wear green and white).
The Pacers have the money to pay Siakam and his agent has already signaled that there is openness to re-sign there. Because the trade includes acquiring Siakam’s Bird Rights, they now have the power to sign him to a larger contract than is available on the open market.
“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
Is this a game-changing move? No, not really. But it is an upgrade for a team that needed this specific kind of upgrade. He still comes with the same issues he had in Toronto, which is a struggle from the 3-point line, but the Pacers clearly hope that playing next to Haliburton leads to some easier looks and maybe a higher 3-point percentage.
All I know is Raptors fans are pissed off, which makes this a good trade for Indiana. And a good trade for Indiana means a little more of an obstacle for Boston. I can see the Pacers snagging the fourth seed after all this (with the obvious caveat that we don’t know what other moves are coming from other teams). If they do rise to fourth, that puts them on a collision course with Boston in the playoffs.
Obviously the Celtics should still win that series, but it will be a little tougher to do now. The Pacers have confidence they can beat Boston because they already have. Haliburton is a bona fide star, so giving him an All-Star-level player makes him even more dangerous. If the Celtics square off against Indiana in the playoffs, it makes the job a bit tougher for Boston.
It shouldn’t change the outcome of the series, but the last thing anyone wants is a tougher road, and that's what this trade does from Boston’s perspective.
