The Toronto Raptors have constantly resisted attempts to trade away Pascal Siakam in exchange for a collection of role players. They view him as a quality asset that is a treasured member of their long-term core. Parting with him at this moment in time would be foolish.
That hasn’t stopped teams like the Philadelphia 76ers from trying to snatch Siakam away from Toronto’s grasp. Early in the Ben Simmons trade saga, Toronto was viewed as a potential destination considering the fact that they had several developing stars that could be used as trade bait.
Luckily for Toronto, no deal has been consummated yet. However, this might be thanks to some reluctance from Philadelphia. While Siakam is an All-NBA caliber player that would absolutely be a worthy headliner in a Simmons package, the 76ers are so delusional that they didn’t view him as such.
In a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required), the 76ers believe that players like Siakam and Pacers star Domantas Sabonis were not “championship-altering, perfect fits on the roster.” In short, the 76ers didn’t trade for Siakam because they thought they were perfectly fine with Tobias Harris.
76ers prefer to wait to pursue James Harden or another superstar in offseason and want to save Ben Simmons for that potential deal over current market, per sources with knowledge and rival teams.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 24, 2022
Details and Simmons latest with @sam_amick at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/kQl6DBhUZf
The Toronto Raptors are thankful the 76ers didn’t get Pascal Siakam.
Siakam is outpacing Harris across the board. He has the advantage in points per game (21.2 vs. 18.2), rebounds per game (8.3 vs. 7.4), assists per game (4.9 vs 3.8), and field goal percentage (48% vs 46%). The excuse of Joel Embiid taking shots away doesn’t hold up as Siakam shares shots with Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes.
If the 76ers didn’t try to acquire Siakam because they think he is on the same level as harris, that is such an egregious misconstruction of Siakam’s value that it makes you wonder what Daryl Morey and that front office are doing.
No wonder the Raptors and 76ers never engage in trade dialogues! They think an All-Star like Siakam is a replaceable player!
Make that 2⃣4⃣ for @pskills43 pic.twitter.com/xJYQT6OOLJ
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 24, 2022
Simmons has currently been wasting away as Philadelphia hols out for an All-NBA, game-changing talent. While Siakam would give the 76ers the player they desire, the fact that Toronto is unwilling to deal with him and Philly has badly underestimated his value is why Daryl Morey is in the mess he’s in.
While this may have been a different conversation if Siakam had not bounced back in such a dynamic fashion, his All-NBA performance has the Raptors holding him in such high esteem that he’s off-limits.
Don’t fret, 76ers. I’m sure Tobias Harris will be just as good as an All-Star with championship experience like Siakam.