Raptors expected to trade Siakam before deadline: report
The Toronto Raptors might not be done retooling their roster just yet.
Following a December 30 trade that brought RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn, another high-profile trade may still be in the works for the franchise.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Toronto is expected to move on from their highest-paid player ahead of the February 8 trade deadline.
Pascal Siakam, who is in the final year of a four-year, $136 million contract with Toronto at age 29, has been the target of rumours for much of the last calendar year and they don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
“While the Knicks continue to search the market, the Raptors will too. League sources expect Toronto to move on from two-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam before the trade deadline,” Bontemps wrote in an article for ESPN today discussing the aftermath of the trade and the market around the NBA.
Of course, no deal with the Raptors is guaranteed until we see the team press release come through, with a notoriously tight-lipped front office not exactly likely to show their hand.
A two-time All-Star as well as a two-time All-NBA selection, Siakam has averaged 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 34 games this season. A key cog in the team’s run to the 2019 NBA championship, Siakam has spent his entire career with Toronto since being selected 27th overall out of New Mexico State in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Siakam has expressed on multiple occasions his desire to stick with the only NBA franchise he’s ever known, but time will tell exactly how his long-term fate lies.
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