Pascal Siakam is a Raptor – no one saw him coming
By Brian Boake
The virtually unknown Pascal Siakam was chosen by Masai Ujiri with the Raptors’ second first-round pick. Who is this guy?
With their second pick in the NBA Draft’s first round, the Toronto Raptors once again shocked the world. Pascal Siakam is well-known to his immediate family in Cameroon (his 3 older brothers all played U.S. college hoops!), Basketball Without Borders aficionados, and New Mexico State fans – and no one else.
That obscurity just ended. Pascal was drafted last night at #27, and while the spotlight won’t be as bright as that on Jakob Poeltl, it will find him.
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Siakam is 22 years old, and stands 6’10”. He weighs in at a scrawny 227 lbs., which makes him the same dimensions as Chris Bosh when he was drafted. Pascal is a high-motor, high-rebound kind of power forward. When I saw some video, Pascal reminded me of Tristan Thompson; more of a slashing, fast-footed big man than a banger. Like Thompson, he’s unusually strong on the offensive boards. For a perimeter-oriented team like the Raptors, a few extra possessions per game can make a huge difference, so his contributions would be most welcome.
Pascal’s shooting has improved dramatically, by all accounts, which I’m glad to hear. Players who are always moving at warp speed don’t often shoot jumpers well, because they release before they aim. You need that split second at the top of the leap to set your eyes. If he’s overcome that weakness, hurray.
New Mexico State typically doesn’t play the top college teams, so imagination (and a dollop of optimism) is required when trying to figure out how Pascal will react to much tougher competition. Of course, we should bear in mind his teammates will be substantially better than those he’s used to.
Again, our FanSided affiliate upsidemotor has some detailed analysis and video, which I strongly recommend you have a look at.
This fellow is a prototype Masai Ujiri draft selection. Pascal is an international (the only non-international our GM has chosen in the draft’s first round was Delon Wright) and was picked over players like Deyonta Davis and Skal Labissiere who were expected to be long gone. Our guy might be considered a “reach”, and thus a mild waste of a pick. The counter to that is simple: the Raptors didn’t have a second-round pick this year, so if Masai was going to grab Pascal, it was now or never.
The “reach” criticism was also leveled at Masai when he selected the even more obscure Bruno Caboclo. Whether Bruno ever makes the big club remains to be seen.
Choosing Bruno, and now Pascal, demonstrated once again that Masai is his own man, and doesn’t much care what the U.S.-centric commentator community thinks. As the choice of Norman Powell has proven, Masai’s scouts can find gems late in the draft.
Pascal, welcome to Toronto. We hope whatever time you are compelled to spend in Mississauga with the 905 is short, and that you are playing meaningful minutes with the Raptors by mid-season. We can certainly use what you’ve got to sell.