Ex-Raptors star Siakam sticking with Pacers, skipping free agency: report
Pascal Siakam spent the first eight years of his career with the Toronto Raptors, but it appears he’s found his home for the next little while.
According to Fieldhouse Sports’ Scott Agness, the Indiana Pacers are nearing a long-term deal with Siakam after trading for him from Toronto earlier this year.
The Pacers are nearing a long-term contract extension with forward Pascal Siakam, league sources told Fieldhouse Files.
Both sides know how each other feels + want the partnership to continue. Story to come.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 18, 2024
A 27th overall draft pick in 2016, the Cameroon native built up quite the resume in Toronto: two All-Star appearances, two All-NBA appearances, the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2018-19, and, of course, being a part of the 2019 NBA title-winning roster that celebrated its fifth anniversary this week.
Siakam averaged 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 39 games for the Raptors this season while putting up 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 41 games for the Pacers following the trade. In the postseason, those numbers stayed about on line, as he averaged 21.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 17 games in the 2024 playoffs.
Siakam had publicly expressed his desire to stay in Toronto, but the Raptors opted to part ways with their longtime star player following a disappointing start to the year for the team this past season.
“It’s been a crazy year. I came from a place where I thought I was going to spend the rest of my career there and ended up leaving there and, yeah, it’s been hard,” Siakam told reporters in Indiana following the team’s exit from the Eastern Conference Finals. “It’s been tough just going through everything and leaving in the middle of the season and just going through it a lot mentally and physically and just from everything and then landing here; the support from the first day has been incredible.”
NBA free agency officially opens on July 6, though teams are eligible to talk to players as of June 30 at 6 pm ET.
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