Kings Star Praises Raptors Players As Trade Rumors Swirl

For a moment, it looked like Pascal Siakam might suit up in Sacramento Kings gear Friday night.

It’s trade rumors season and the next month or so is expected to be flooded with trade chatter involving the Toronto Raptors. A lot of it will never come to fruition, but for the players, it’s hard to ignore.

In the hours before Friday’s tipoff between the Raptors and Kings, Shams Charania reported Toronto was ramping up toward a deal that would have sent Siakam to the Kings.

Two hours later, trade talks were over, Charania reported.

“You just gotta stay focused. As long as you’re on the court, you try to think about the task at hand,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox told reporters in Sacramento post-game. “Obviously off the court, you can think about it.”

It’s not hard to see why the Kings would be interested in Toronto’s two-time All-Star forward. Siakam is averaging 22.4 points per game on 52.1% shooting and would give Sacramento another do-it-all scorer to pair with Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

“He’s a dynamic player, he’s one of the guys in the league that can play all five positions,” Fox told reporters. “He’s screening, handling the ball in the pick-and-roll, if he’s spotting up, playing off the catch. He does a lot of things at 6’8”, 6’9”. There’s a reason he’s been an All-NBA player, he’s helped the team win a championship. Also, on the defensive end he’s active, he blows things up, gets his hands on the ball. He affects the game in many ways.”

Siakam wasn’t the only Raptors player Fox praised Friday. The former Kentucky Wildcat said he’s enjoyed watching fellow Wildcat Immanuel Quickley grow in his new role with the Raptors. Friday was Fox’s first up-close look at Quickley since Toronto landed the 6-foot-3 guard in a deal with the New York Knicks last weekend.

“I definitely think he’s a starting point guard in this league,” Fox told reporters. “You could see it when he was in New York. He can really shoot the ball, get guys involved. Obviously, now he’s playing more so you’re able to see it a lot more, but he’s had the talent. … Obviously shoots the hell out of the ball, he can get downhill. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

At some point in the next month, Toronto is likely to add to that as the team looks to retool its roster around the new core of Scottie Barnes and Quickley.

For the 29-year-old Siakam, that likely makes him the odd man out. While he may not be heading to Sacramento, his days with the Raptors certainly appear to be numbered.