Pascal Siakam may not be as easy for the Toronto Raptors to move as OG Anunoby was.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein said this week in a post to Substack that the Raptors star Siakam is taking a notable stance on his future. Stein writes that Siakam, if traded, would be unlikely to sign a two-year extension with his new team and would instead prefer to test free agency in order to gain “ultimate control.”
The two-time All-Star forward Siakam is currently in the final season of his contract with Toronto. The Raptors just dealt Anunoby, another homegrown standout, to the New York Knicks, and many anticipate a Siakam trade will follow suit before the deadline (with three teams recently being mentioned in connection with Siakam).
But Siakam could really dampen his trade market with this reported stance as interested teams wouldn’t be getting any assurances of Siakam signing with them long-term (potentially making him an expensive three-to-four-month rental). Though a new team would gain the advantage of being able to offer the 29-year-old the most money in free agency, none of that will matter if Siakam simply wants play elsewhere.
There have been some examples of teams succeeding with dice-rolls on trades for star players who didn’t originally want to be there. But the big difference here is that Siakam can immediately become a free agent in the summer, making it a highly risky proposition for a team to try and get him right now.
