Draymond Green is a big fan of Raptors' Pascal Siakam trade
Draymond Green seems to be a big fan of the Toronto Raptors’ latest major transaction.
In the latest episode of the Draymond Green Show, the NBA veteran and four-time NBA champion spoke for over five minutes about the deal that sent veteran forward Pascal Siakam last week to the Indiana Pacers.
With multiple reports about Siakam not being willing to sign a long-term contract this coming offseason should he be traded, Green spoke about the likelihood of Siakam agreeing to his final destination.
“Pascal had to say I’d be cool going there, and why wouldn’t he be?” Green said.
Green also spoke about the Pacers’ high-paced playstyle, which currently has them scoring a league-high 124.6 points per game, as led by Tyrese Haliburton’s 23.6 points per game.
“I don’t know if y’all watch the Indiana Pacers play this year. Them boys is running and gunning. Now [Siakam] can bring [his] veteran presence to that — [his] championship pedigree,” Green said. “I like to look at that, so I have no way of confirming that, but I think I know this business pretty well. And I think that’s something that Pascal approved of. Job well done, sir. I think that’s a great fit. Great trade for the Indiana Pacers.”
But while Green had plenty of positives for the Pacers’ fit with Siakam, he was also quite complimentary of Toronto’s side of things, given the possibility of losing him in free agency this summer.
“I also think it was a great trade for the Raptors; you got Pascal four months away from being a free agent, an unrestricted free agent, which means he could go to wherever you want to go now. You may say, ‘Oh, he’s is not going to do that to the Raptors,’ but 10 days after winning an NBA championship, Kawhi Leonard did. So that’s a very realistic thing for the Toronto Raptors. That is a reality,” Green added.
In return for Siakam, Toronto received Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and Kira Lewis in addition to two first-round picks in 2024 and one in 2026.
“They get three first-round picks back, and although I don’t think their picks will be great, maybe the one down the road will be great. But these two [in 2024] I don’t think are necessarily great picks. But again, you got a guy who you want to do right by because he’s won your championship. And you get three first-round picks for a guy who’s not to be out the door in a couple months. I think it’s a great trade for both,” Green added.
The full episode is available below: