The Indiana Pacers have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA during the 2023-24 regular season. When healthy, they have shown they can hang in the Eastern Conference and were pushing for one of the spots outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Looking to capitalize on that early success, the Pacers are finalizing a deal to acquire All-Star and All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors. Details about the trade are still trickling in, as the New Orleans Pelicans are going to be involved, making it a three-team deal.
But, the biggest part of the transaction will be Siakam joining the Pacers. To acquire him, Indiana is sending three first-round picks, Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora to Toronto. Also heading to Toronto is point guard Kira Lewis from the Pelicans.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Pacers will be sending two first-rounders in the 2024 NBA Draft to Toronto along with a 2026 first-rounder. A second-round pick is being sent to Indiana via New Orleans.
One of the biggest obstacles for teams to overcome that were negotiating deals with the Raptors for Siakam was that he could enter unrestricted free agency this summer. He has plans to test the market in free agency, but according to Wojnarowski, Indiana is one place he wants to be.
Siakam is reportedly happy about his landing spot with the Pacers and eager to work out a long-term deal with his new team in the offseason. He is going to combine with All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to provide the Pacers with a strong one-two punch going forward.
The ceiling of the Pacers has now improved exponentially. They have been on the lookout for an upgrade at power forward and were able to acquire an excellent one in Siakam. Not having to include Benedict Mathurin or rookie Jarace Walker is a huge win for the franchise.
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