It may be too late for Raptors to deal their most valuable trade chip

Pascal Siakam will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The veteran forward has been the subject of trade rumors over the past few months. Those rumors have intensified following the Raptors' decision to trade OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks on Saturday. 

However, Siakam reportedly prefers to wait until the offseason to decide on his future. According to a report by Marc Stein via his SteinLine newsletter, part of Siakam's decision-making is based on the length of contract he could be offered if the Raptors traded him before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. 

"Siakam’s widely presumed preference is playing out the rest of the season in Toronto and proceeding to free agency to gain ultimate control," Stein reported. "...Any team that trades for Siakam before the Feb. 8 buzzer — now that we've passed Dec. 30 — can only offer him a two-year extension. Word is Siakam, if he's dealt, is unlikely to sign off on a two-year extension and would prefer, again, to proceed to unrestricted free agency."

Siakam, 29, is firmly in the prime of his career. He has already proven that he's capable of producing at an All-NBA level. There will be multiple teams willing to extend him an offer in the summer. However, that doesn't work for the Raptors. Allowing Siakam to leave for nothing in the summer would remove one of the franchise's best trade chips. Yes, Siakam could instigate a sign-and-trade to help the Raptors out, but that would hard cap his new team, which is never an easy thing to ask a front office to do. 

Nevertheless, Siakam holds all the cards in his current situation. Teams won't be willing to part with trade assets for a player who could walk away in the summer. But he appears to be unwilling to sign a short-term contract extension. Of course, the Raptors could choose to continue their partnership with him and offer him a four-year max deal. If they were going to do that, it likely would have already been done. 

It would appear Toronto is heading toward a worst-case scenario in regards to Siakam's future. They've had their opportunity to trade him in recent seasons and opted to stand pat. Now, the ball isn't in their court. It would take a gutsy team to roll the dice on a trade at this point in the season, and while that's not impossible, it's incredibly unlikely.