Raptors: 3 early-season predictions the media got completely wrong
By Mike Luciano
2. Calling a Pascal Siakam trade
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report is a rock-solid reporter who nailed Toronto’s pre-draft interest in Barnes when drafting Jalen Suggs seemed like a foregone conclusion, but his sources may have been a bit overenthusiastic when discussing the idea of the Raptors starting their new era without Siakam.
Bleacher Report’s story not only claimed that Siakam was “available” if Toronto wanted to acquire a star in the same tier as Bradley Beal, but Ujiri was also mentioned as looking to trade away the pick that became Barnes to acquire more draft capital. To be very brief, that trade did not happen.
The Toronto Raptors did not trade away Pascal Siakam.
The Raptors held onto VanVleet and OG Anunoby while picking Barnes due to their intention of making a contender in a very short period. Trading Siakam flies in the face of that, and Ujiri was wise to withstand all of the proposals that were almost assuredly thrown in his face.
Siakam might not have taken the floor so far this year, but the idea of trading him and rebooting this roster has lost steam with each passing game. When Siakam returns to this lineup, Toronto could easily start climbing up the standings provided No. 43 is just as lethal on offense as he usually is.