Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Raptors seem unwilling to part with two-time All-Star despite trade interest

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 6/25/23

Despite the NBA offseason officially being underway, the Toronto Raptors remain an enigma. Toronto failed to qualify for the postseason this year after struggling with an unbalanced roster and Nick Nurse was fired from his role as the team's head coach. However, the Raptors are yet to give any indication as to what their next move is.

With Scottie Barnes on their roster, Toronto could decide to tear things down and begin a rebuild. In order to hit the reset button, the front office will need to sanction trades for players like Pascal Siakam and/or OG Anunoby. Unfortunately, Toronto doesn't seem likely to let either of their star talents go.

According to a report by Yahoo! Sports Jake Fischer, the Atlanta Hawks have been trying and failing to acquire Pascal Siakam in recent weeks.

"Atlanta has also maintained a pursuit of Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, according to league sources," Fischer wrote. "The Hawks’ have attempted several creative packages to land the All-NBA talent from Toronto, including at least one three-team scenario."

If the Raptors aren't going to be re-tooling their roster this summer, it makes no sense to hang onto Siakam. The seven-year veteran will be 30 by the time next season ends and is well into his prime years. Toronto will never have a better opportunity to receive a significant return for Siakam's services than it will this summer.

In 71 regular-season games, Siakam averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, shooting 48% from the field and 32.4% from deep. Multiple teams around the NBA will be willing to pay a premium to prise Siakam away from the Raptors.

Toronto's current core isn't good enough to compete for a championship, and there's a legitimate chance they could lose Fred VanVleet in free agency this summer.

Trading away Siakam doesn't mean you have to trade OG Anunoby. The latter is five years younger than Siakam and fits into Barnes' timeline. Toronto has to make a decision in the coming weeks, and that could mean the Hawks re-enter into trade negotiations if the Raptors are willing to lower their asking price.

Unfortunately, Siakam projects to be the player that ushers in a new era in Toronto, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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