The Toronto Raptors have a pivotal offseason ahead of them, and their quest to improve the roster has been made infinitely more difficult by the fact that they may have to play the first month or so of the season without star power forward Pascal Siakam due to his shoulder injury.
Based on some of the latest buzz, there is a chance that Siakam may not even make it to the regular season with Toronto, as their unlucky 2020-21 campaign has prompted some thoughts of a quick rebuild. The Golden State Warriors appear interested in trying to pluck Siakam away from the Raptors.
The Athletic’s John Hollinger is reporting that the Warriors will try to use the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and center James Wiseman, picked No. 2 overall in 2020, in order to acquire a tertiary scorer for the 2021-22 season. Siakam’s name has frequently come up when mentioned as a potential target.
Considering Siakam’s salary, the Warriors may need to throw a player like Andrew Wiggins in to make the money work. Should the Raptors take the haul and start rebuilding for the future, or should they keep Siakam and make a go of it themselves in 2021?
There is a widespread expectation that the Warriors will use the No. 7 pick and James Wiseman to immediately upgrade the roster, @johnhollinger writes.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 28, 2021
One name to watch: Pascal Siakam.
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Potential Toronto Raptors trade that sends Pascal Siakam to the Warriors.
Pros
The Raptors would get a player in Wiggins that has made tremendous strides, playing the best defense of his career while scoring 18.6 points per game on 47% shooting. He is instantly the No. 2 scorer on this team. Wiseman was up and down as a rookie, but the 7-1 center with mind-blowing athletic ability is worth developing, and he’d give the Raptors a new starting center.
The Raptors could dip into rebuild mode as a result of this deal considering how tough the division is.
With Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby locked up long-term, supplementing those two with Wiggins, Wiseman, a player like Jalen Suggs or Jalen Green that could be taken with the No. 4 overall pick, and another potential star at No. 7, Toronto would have a super young, super talented core that could eventually make them a force in the East once again.
Cons
By doing this trade, the Raptors would be giving up on Siakam just 1.5 years into his max deal. With 2019-20 ending in the bubble and 2020-21 impacted by COVID-19, Toronto, who isn’t necessarily looking to get off of Siakam’s contract, would be trading him at a point when his value has never been lower.
Rebuilding is all well and good, but they are in a division with two title contenders in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, a Knicks team that will be better than they were last year, and a Boston team that also will improve. It could be a long time before Toronto sniffs the postseason if they start waving a white flag by trading Siakam away.
In a vacuum, this trade could work, as the Warriors would get a star scorer at the power forward spot, while Toronto adds both a Canadian star and three Top 7 picks in a two-year span. However, with the uncertainty surrounding Wiseman and some of the second-tier prospects in this draft, this trade is fraught with uncertainty.