Regrading all 4 Raptors Trade Deadline deals after final details are revealed

Trade No. 2: Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers

The Trade: Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr., 2024 first-round pick (IND), 2024 first-round pick (worst of 4 teams), 2026 first-round pick (IND, Top-4 protected)

The Pascal Siakam trade seemed inevitable once OG Anunoby was traded, but it took a few weeks to come together. When it was announced the trade return was more in line with expectations for a team breaking up a veteran core, with expiring salary and three first-round picks heading to Toronto.

The Indiana Pacers went on a run with Siakam in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, interestingly enough defeating Anunoby’s Knicks in the second round and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The fit of Siakam and Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton was not always optimized, but his fit alongside Myles Turner was ideal and an offseason together likely improves their high-end production.

That playoff run likely cemented Siakam’s contract, however, landing a four-year, $189 million contract. Unlike Anunoby’s situation, however, it’s not immediately clear who else would have offered such a deal to the veteran forward. The Pacers avoided any such risk, handing him the deal ahead of free agency. 

The Toronto Raptors received back a number of individual pieces in the trade. Jordan Nwora is a free agent waiting to sign with a team; he’s likely getting a minimum deal somewhere. Kira Lewis was rerouted to the Utah Jazz in a subsequent deal. Bruce Brown is on the roster after Toronto picked up his $23 million team option and is likely to be traded, so the potential return for him will factor in. He proved to be a fairly poor fit with the Raptors’ other core players so the Raptors are motivated to move him on to a new team quickly.

The Raptors split up the two 2024 first-round picks that came in, sending one to Utah in the Kelly Olynyk trade to be discussed later in this piece. The other was used on Baylor wing Ja’Kobe Walter, a player who looks like the ideal type of player to put next to Immanuel Quickley in the backcourt. They still hold onto the 2026 Top-4 protected first from Indiana.

If Walter comes a future starter or Bruce Brown is traded for a real difference-maker this deal looks better for Toronto, but primarily it highlights the lowered return they received by waiting so long to move on from Pascal Siakam. 

Grade: B-