Breaking: For Raptors” important role next to Haliburton as his backcourt partner….

It seems like for the last two-plus years, the NBA world has waited, impatiently, with bated breath to see if the Toronto Raptors will succumb to the vultures circling around their sought-after players. In short, will they make a trade?

Well, they did! Just before the clock struck midnight on 2023 — the Raptors moved on from their 26-year old, defensive-minded two-way wing OG Anunoby, trading him, along with Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks in exchange for Canada’s own RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Ranking Pascal Siakam Trade Destinations: From The Raptors Perspective

It’s still too early to determine who won the trade, what the eventual long-term implications will be for each franchise, and what comes of the players involved. But ultimately, it was a significant moment for one reason:

It’s easy to look at that surface-level fact and think that this should signal the start of an all-out rebuild — a tearing down to the studs, but that seems to be far from the case. There’s a reason the Raptors opted to trade Anunoby now, with his impending free agency decision looming, for two players that can be thrown into their rotation immediately versus a deal that was more pick-incentivized. It’s already been reported on numerous occasions that the Raptors had their pick of the litter at last year’s deadline in terms of pick-centric packages for Anunoby — and they didn’t.

The reasoning is rather simple. For the most part, the Raptors have no incentive to pull the plug this season with their 1st round pick out the door to the San Antonio Spurs thanks to last year’s Jakob Poeltl deal. From that point of view, it’d be best served for the Raptors to let that pick convey and not have their pick cache limited in the coming years when they want to build around Quickley and their franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes.

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It’s also important to note that the Raptors opted to trade for a player in Quickley, who becomes a restricted free agent this summer, and therefore, have more control over what his next contract looks like.

So when you consider these things and look forward to what the Raptors might do with Pascal Siakam, their other impending free agent and current franchise building block, it’s safe to assume that:

1) The Raptors are trying to stay competitive and avoid a rebuild.

2) They will prioritize players rather than picks in trades in hopes of maintaining that competitiveness.

There has been plenty of noise on the Siakam front over the last two years. Multiple suitors have been mentioned. And while Siakam is extension eligible, the Raptors and Siakam’s camp have, reportedly, been far apart on a possible extension. Beyond that, there seems to be an unwillingness from Siakam to commit to an extension with any team he’s traded to, because they can only offer him a 2-year contract, and almost 30 years old, Siakam is, in all likelihood, looking for a longer, more secure contract. So, in short, the Raptors probably won’t get the return they’d like for a player who has been a two-time all-star and all-NBA player in his time with the franchise.

There’s room and time for all of this to change. The Raptors could look at the next 5 weeks with this new-look team as a testing period to see how Siakam would fit alongside a core of Barnes, Barrett, and Quickley. But given the money crunch, the time crunch, and the distance between the two parties on an extension — it seems rather inevitable that a trade will happen.

So based on all the above, what package would the Raptors prefer most?

1) Indiana Pacers

The ideal deal: Buddy Hield, Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, Andrew Nembhard for Pascal Siakam

The realistic deal: Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Andrew Nembhard, and a 2024 1st (via OKC, HOU, LAC, or UTAH) for Pascal Siakam

Reasoning: In the recent past, the Pacers have inquired about Siakam and while nothing came to light, there is a world in which they reconvene, given Tyrese Haliburton’s indications that he wants to win (and win now), and Siakam would be a pretty snug fit in their pace and space style. Despite initially being far apart on contract negotiations, Buddy Hield has assumed an important role next to Haliburton as his backcourt partner for the foreseeable future — and Bruce Brown’s 2nd-year team option is the assumed preferred contract to match. As far as young pieces, the Raptors land Walker, a big wing-sized utility knife defender, and Nembhard, a Canadian guard they have coveted in the past. This is about as good as it gets in terms of returns, considering the Raptors need to stay competitive and value players over picks.

2) Atlanta Hawks

The ideal deal: Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Patty Mills for Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher, and Jalen McDaniels

The realistic deal: De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, Patty Mills, for Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher, Jalen McDaniels

Reasoning: Bogdanovic is a Serbian legend and would fit in nicely next to both Head Coach Darko Rajakovic and the Raptors’ current shooting-deprived nucleus. Maybe Hunter can live up to his contract, similar to the way the Raptors approached the Barrett deal and they get two young guard prospects in Griffin and Bufkin whom they can develop. The Hawks get a plethora of wings, including Siakam who could help them rise beyond the middle-of-the-pack Eastern conference team they are. I’m sure the Raptors would prefer to trade Siakam for another wing-type that they can build around Scottie, but I’d be surprised if the Hawks let go of Jalen Johnson, who’s in the midst of a most-improved type of season.

3) Golden State Warriors

The ideal deal: Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, a 2025 1st round pick (top 3 protected), and a 2026 2nd round pick (via ATL) for Pascal Siakam and Otto Porter Jr

The realistic deal: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, 2025 1st round pick (top 3 protected), and Gui Santos for Pascal Siakam

Reasoning: The crux of this deal is for Kuminga and Moody from the Raptors’ perspective. But it doesn’t necessarily clear up their cap space long-term with Wiggins’s contract, however Canadian he might be. That’s why, from the Raptors’ perspective, Chris Paul’s expiring salary would be a more ideal trade broker. But it might be worth it, even with Wiggins contract, just to acquire both Kuminga and Moody, two players who have both, to different degrees, shown off their immense potential early in their careers as versatile wings — a position the Raptors adore and would need after trading both Anunoby and Siakam. For the Warriors, this gives them a guy in Siakam they can compete with right away for a title — and the 4-man group of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Pascal Siakam, and Draymond Green should be fiesty come playoff time. But will the Warriors move off of their assets for a rental? Or will Siakam be willing to extend to compete for a championship? These are questions that will become more clear as we approach the deadline. The difference between this deal and the Hawks one depends on your valuation of Kuminga, Moody, Bufkin, and Griffin as well as who you believe in more between Hunter and Bogdanovic in Atlanta or Wiggins in Golden State.

4) Sacramento Kings

The ideal deal: Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov and two 2nd round-picks for Pascal Siakam

The realistic deal: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Heurter, Davion Mitchell, Colby Jones, 2026 1st round pick (unprotected), 2028 1st round pick (top 4 protected)

Reasoning: There’s just no way the Kings will move off of Keegan Murray who has turned himself into a fan favorite. If the Kings were open to moving Murray, they’d be much higher on the list, maybe even number 1, but they aren’t. And their secondary, pick-incentivized offer probably doesn’t persuade the Raptors to move off of Siakam.

5) Dallas Mavericks

The ideal deal: Dereck Lively, Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Grant Williams, Maxi Kleber, Richaun Holmes, and two second-round picks for Pascal Siakam, Otto Porter Jr and Jalen McDaniels

The realistic deal: Grant Williams, Maxi Kleber, Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, 2026 1st round pick (unprotected) for Pascal Siakam

Reasoning: Like the Kings, the Mavericks are very unlikely to move off of Lively — which makes a deal with Dallas unlikely for Toronto. However, if a deal were to occur, it’d have to include the litany of other Mavericks prospects plus two rotation players in Kleber and Williams who could be rotation guys right away. Again, nothing here is too appealing for the Mavericks to leapfrog over the other teams that would be interested in Siakam’s talents.

And while these are the list of teams that are reportedly currently interested in Siakam, there are tons of moving parts that could change things in the coming weeks. Where would Siakam himself like to go, if traded? Would he be willing to sign an extension, either in Toronto or elsewhere? Would another team, desperate to improve, cough up more than these interested teams to acquire

As always, things like this are a moving target, and we’ll be watching closely to see how it shakes out over the next month.