Raptors’ trade of 1 star player is inevitable?
Sep 25, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri during a press conference at media day at the BioSteel Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Fred VanVleet just left in free agency for the Houston Rockets, and now another player from the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA title team could be packing his bags too.
Veteran NBA reporter Mark Medina said this week in an interview with GIVEMESPORT that it feels “inevitable” that the Raptors will trade away star big man Pascal Siakam. Medina adds that Toronto expects a “strong” return for Siakam consisting of rotation players, expiring contracts, and draft picks, all of which would be able to jumpstart a rebuild for them.
The 29-year-old Siakam is the most talented player on the Raptors’ roster. An All-Star in 2020, Siakam led the team with 24.2 points per game last season (also chipping in 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game). Siakam cannot be the best player on a contending team though, and yet he is still skilled enough that he raises the floor for the rest of the roster. That could leave Toronto stuck in limbo if they continue their partnership with Siakam, making him a serious trade candidate (especially since Siakam is going into the final year of his current contract).
A few weeks ago, Siakam was linked to a notable East rival in trade rumors. If the Raptors do not deal Siakam away this offseason, he might not last in Toronto beyond the trade deadline next February.
