There was an expectation heading into the offseason that the Toronto Raptors were going to be active and aggressive in possibly hitting the reset button. After a relatively quiet start to the summer, it seems like that prediction may end up being right after all.
Losing Fred VanVleet in free agency (to the Houston Rockets) and with the whispers growing that Pascal Siakam could be the next Raptor to switch jerseys, it’s becoming abundantly clear that there’s a youth movement taking place in Toronto.
Entering the final year of his contract, finding the “right” trade for Siakam won’t be easy for the Raptors. However, it does appear this could be the next domino to fall for the franchise. One team that has recently been linked to Siakam is the Indiana Pacers (subscription required).
A possible deal between the Raptors and Pacers could prove to be complicated, but Indiana does have some assets that would be of interest to Toronto.
5 assets the Toronto Raptors must ask for from Pacers in Pascal Siakam trade
5. Buddy Hield
Hield may seem like a bit of an afterthought at this point in his career, but he’d almost have to be involved in any deal for Pascal Siakam to help make the money work, especially if another big contract (from the Pacers) is not involved.
While Hield may not make much sense for the Raptors from an on-the-court standpoint due to his poor defense, he’d represent an asset that Toronto could flip at or before next year’s NBA Trade Deadline for a collection of younger players and picks.
Will Buddy Hield join the Toronto Raptors?
Hield is on an expiring contract and coming off one of the best shooting seasons of his career. At the trade deadline, there will be contenders lining up for his services if he’s available. Why can’t Toronto jump to the front of the line and secure his services?
That’s an asset Toronto should demand from Indiana in any deal for Siakam, as including Hield would just be the starting point for the Raptors.
4. Myles Turner
On the one hand, the Pacers would probably be interested in the possibility of adding Pascal Siakam as a complement to Myles Turner. However, on the other hand, the Raptors can’t seemingly make this deal without getting at least one proven asset in return. That could possibly be Turner.
The big question for the Raptors, if Turner is one of the players they demand in return in a Siakam trade to Indiana, is whether he could play alongside Jakob Poeltl, who the team just invested big money in.
Can the Toronto Raptors get Myles Turner?
Even if the team doesn’t believe in a Turner-Poeltl frontcourt, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t take him back as part of the deal. Turner is an asset, and if the Raptors don’t have much long-term use for him, they could decide to flip him down the line. Essentially, they could turn Turner into multiple other assets, say, at the NBA Trade Deadline if they wanted to.
Turner is still growing as a player and is coming off the best season of his career in the league by far. Turner is not the level of player that Siakam is, but when building out a trade package, he’s a good target to start with from a talent perspective.
3. Jarace Walker
Walker was the Pacers’ selection with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He’s an intriguing prospect that would likely be involved as compensation in a potential Siakam deal, especially if the Raptors want to move closer to a rebuild.
Walker would be an intriguing addition to a Toronto Raptors team that is pivoting toward a youth movement. Walker would theoretically be a fit next to Jakob Poeltl and did flash some “glue-guy star potential” during his freshman season with the Houston Cougars in college.
Can the Toronto Raptors land Jarace Walker?
Walker is the type of player that every team needs. He’s going to make an immediate impact in the league defensively and has offensive tools that suggest he could be a capable two-way player a few years into his development.
In what could potentially be a difficult decision, Walker would help ease the loss of Siakam from a purely basketball standpoint. Walker is not Siakam and probably doesn’t have the same high-end ceiling as he does, but he could be a great fit on the retooling Raptors.
2. 2024 first-round pick
In the event that the Raptors trade Pascal Siakam to the Pacers, you’d have to imagine that there will be at least one future first-round pick involved. The Raptors need to prioritize the 2024 first-round pick to be included.
There’s a very clear reason why; there’s a good chance that this upcoming version of the Pacers is going to be their “worst” of the next 4-5 years. With how many young, intriguing pieces Indiana has, it would be surprising if they didn’t develop into, at the very least, a perennial playoff team in the Eastern Conference—perhaps more.
The Toronto Raptors need to acquire draft picks
But that’s far from a guarantee in 2024, even if Siakam is traded to the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton is still developing, and we may not see the best of him for another few years. Siakam will help this team, but can he raise their ceiling that much? There’s a path toward the Pacers getting him help, but it will take time.
The Raptors should look to get the 2024 first-round pick with the likelihood that their draft picks in the future will only get less valuable. The alternative would be to target betting on the Pacers not having sustained success with their young core and looking for picks in the far future, which is muss less sexy.
1. Bennedict Mathurin
It will be a massive win if the Raptors can negotiate their way to include Mathurin in a potential deal centered around Siakam. He’s the one high-end star-potential player that the Raptors should be hoping for in any possible return with the Pacers.
However, there’s no guarantee that Indiana would want to part ways with Mathurin after an extremely underrated rookie season with the team.
Mathurin is coming off a successful rookie campaign in which he averaged 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on 43% shooting from the field overall. While he’s coming off a solid rookie year, the fact that he’s still playing in NBA Summer League goes to show that he’s still very much a work in progress as a player.
Bennedict Mathurin would be great for the Toronto Raptors.
He has a great skill set that could lead him down a path of stardom if he continues to develop. That’s something the Raptors could look to take advantage of as they look to retool or rebuild (or whatever they want to call this next era for the franchise).
Mathurin would give the Raptors another exciting young player to add to their young core of Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., and OG Anunoby if they were to move on from Siakam.