Does Pascal Siakam have a long-term future with the Toronto Raptors?

Pascal Siakam, the lone star left of the Toronto Raptors championship winning squad, might have other NBA options. Will the star from Cameroon be moved? We'll see.

Championship hangover

It hasn't been fun in Toronto since the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship in 2019. Nick Nurse is one of the more fiery coaches in the NBA, and as many technical fouls as he receives, frustrations have been high up North. Kawhi Leonard went home a few years ago to L.A. after the city was on a high, Kyle Lowry is now Jimmy Butler's teammate in Miami, and Pascal Siakam remains the sole star power carryover. The carryover on a team going through as much transition as Toronto ever has. Finishing 27-45 and outside of the playoffs was not expected. Trade rumors abound associated with Siakam, and despite nothing coming out of the Raptors' front office, the 6'9" twenty-seven year old power forward's recent dust-up with Nurse, coupled with the drafting of Scottie Barnes, might say differently.

Has to be for sure, he mentioned trying different things and feeling more fluid when he came back https://t.co/ZWWmVRVqXu
— Cole (@cpier_) August 19, 2021

Expand Tweet

What has Pascal Siakam accomplished?

NBA Champ in 2019
NBA All-Star in 2020
Most Improved Player in 2019
D-League Champ in 2017
D-League Finals MVP in 2017

Siakam has developed into quite the playmaker. Now that he's the offensive focus, he's had to expand his game to offset opposition game planning. He's pulling down 7.2 boards, yet has to shoot the three better than last season (29.7%). He's a matchup problem with all his athleticism and length, and should be a multiple All-Star. His ability to get to the rim with not much effort is unique, and his personality gives him a charisma the city digs. He also has that championship insulation so many covet in the association.

How long with that last?

The challenges of being the guy

Everything was cool for Siakam when he was the third option behind Leonard and Lowry. The team didn't have to run many plays bouncing off what those veterans executed. Now that he's the guy, and despite becoming a first-time NBA All-Star, things have tightened up, and frustrations have mounted in Toronto. When these things happen in sports, scrutiny becomes the focus, and when a city wins a championship, all it wants is another. As the losses pile up, rumors go from whispers to thunderous.

The Scottie Barnes effect

From Matthew Maurer of The Draft Review: "Barnes is a silky forward with the ability to put the ball on the floor and create scoring opportunities for himself or perhaps his best trait for others. He’s unique in that while built like a power forward, his style is that of a point forward. Offensively, he is still a work in progress but those same statements were made about Pascal Siakam in the 2016 NBA Draft. So we know Toronto understands how to develop players."

Mauer continues when I ask if Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam would be in each other's way: "I don’t seem them being in the way I see them developing a great mentorship. With Barnes' natural instinct to be unselfish and pass he and Siakam’s scoring ability this should make for a quality tandem."

There's that.

Will Pascal Siakam be traded?

Short answer? No. GM Bobby Webster had this to say to Writers Bloc about anything linked to Pascal Siakam: "Teams call on all of our players, and we call on other players. I find it interesting that it’s become a hot topic when there’s nothing really materially been discussed.”

Pascal Siakam in a crazy year that saw him contract COVID-19 and suffer a shoulder injury, still managed to average 21.8 points and hand out a career-high 4.5 assists in an All-Star season.

Masai Ujiri has built a very thorough organization in Toronto, and I think it would be a shock if Pascal Siakam is moved. What's going on in Philly with Ben Simmons stirs the pot. While I don't think Pascal Siakam's relationship with the Raptors is beyond repair, if there is something dramatic going on within the team, unloading him to Philadelphia (if the money could be made to work), could be the change of scenery both players may need.