3 Early Predictions for the Toronto Raptors at the NBA Trade Deadline
By Mike Luciano
2. Pascal Siakam gets traded
The Raptors once again find themselves in a unique situation. They would ideally like to turn the show over to Scottie Barnes, and he's shown legitimate improvement this season, but Siakam remains the team's most effective scoring option. It's still quite rare that both players can operate at 100% efficiency together.
To take the stance that most Barnes fans will likely also adopt, part of the reason they have struggled is their inability to surround him with a collection of shooters. Moving Siakam, a free agent at the end of the year, could be the best way for them to recoup young players and gunners around Barnes.
Will the Toronto Raptors trade Pascal Siakam?
Siakam should be able to fetch a quality young stud on a controllable contract, a role player or two, and some unprotected first-round picks. The Hawks have shown interest in the past, and the Sacramento Kings have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for quite some time.
Seeing Siakam go will be a tough moment for this fanbase, but the ability to capitalize and get pieces that help Barnes in the long term will help soften the blow. In addition, this will prevent a Fred VanVleet-like bidding war Toronto almost assuredly would not win.