Media votes could cost Pascal Siakam $98 million in contract negotiations

The Toronto Raptors have not been the most enjoyable ride this season, but it has once again been an absolute treat to watch the exploits of All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. His climb up the hypothetical NBA ladder has continued in what has been his best season to date.

Siakam is averaging 24.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game, showing that very few players in the league are as much of a triple-double threat as he is. A third All-NBA appearance, which would be his second in as many years, certainly can’t be discarded as a possibility.

If Siakam ends up making All-NBA, that could make him eligible for a supermax contract in the offseason. It would be fantastic to see him compensated like a superstar, but an odd quirk of the supermax criteria could rip that huge payday away from him.

If Siakam is not named to the All-NBA team, the maximum value of his contract will be $189 million instead of $287 million. While still a significant chunk of change for a five-year period, it would essentially rob him of close to $100 million in that span, all because media members didn’t fawn over him.

All-NBA vote could cost Toronto Raptors PF Pascal Siakam

Tying incentives and All-league team qualifications for contracts like this to All-NBA nods makes sense in theory, but it also can be a very slippery slope that gives voters the power to influence team decision-making and how well the player ends up being compensated. Siakam has several factors working against him.

On top of the fact that there have been several incredibly deserving frontcourt players with comparable statistics ahead of him, Siakam must overcome the fact that the Raptors have a 36-38 record on top of the usual Toronto tax that makes voters often forget the team exists.

Siakam is not a perfect player, as evidenced by a weird slump that certainly contributed to Toronto’s overall uneven play recently. That doesn’t mean that a true do-it-all forward carrying a flawed team to win by our tyranny of will should not be rewarded as such by the writers.

Siakam is going to cash in soon, as the 2024 free agent has proven he can be a featured option on a good team or a secondary option on a champion. The Raptors will likely pay top dollar for his services, but it remains to be seen how much they are allowed to even consider paying him.