Pacers reportedly complete bold move to add Pascal Siakam
The Pacers dipped into their collection of draft picks to alter the immediate future.
The Pacers are going through the NBA trade machinations to acquire forward Pascal Siakam from the Raptors in exchange for Bruce Brown Jr., Jordan Nwora and three future first-round picks (Pacers 2024, most likely OKC’s 2024, Pacers 2026), as both Shams and Woj reported on Wednesday.
To make the deal work, the Pacers first opened up a roster spot by waiving James Johnson to acquire Kira Lewis (no relation) and a second-round pick from the Pelicans for cap space that would help the Pels avoid a hefty luxury tax bill. Lewis was added to Brucey B and Nowra to make the money work for Siakam to join the Blue and Gold. Yes, the Pacers expect to bring James Johnson back after he clears waivers (Milwaukee claiming Johnson would be pretty funny, no?) which is expected.
Bottom line: Pascal Siakam will fill a vital need for the Pacers this season (this week!), offering a two-way player at the forward spot who will allow the Pacers to play big or small but also have a defender for some of the dynamic forwards who have torched the Pacers this season. On ESPN, Woj mentioned that Siakam wanted to play with the Pacers and had been in contact with Haliburton. So, this Hali as pied piper thing is happening. If the results are as good as Pacers fans hope, it will only help the Pacers continue attracting talent trying to maximize their talent alongside Hali.
Of course, the risk of using so much draft capital for Siakam at this time is that he could still walk after the season which would leave the Pacers with only a monster chunk of salary cap for the effort. That’s not nothing, but it would be the worst case scenario. But reports indicate (along with the three draft picks KP sent) that Siakam is willing to re-sign with the Pacers.
That makes the main concern that the Pacers WILL sign Siakam for more than he may be worth at the end of a maxish deal. The Pacers will have his Bird rights which means they can make an offer Siakam can’t refuse with an extra (5th) year in the deal. Ideally, the Pacers could sign him for three years and continue developing the young bigs, hoping one or two emerge as key players. But there’s no doubt, another part of Siakam’s excitement about joining Haliburton and the Pacers is that they have indicated they are willing to max him out.
It’s not my money. I don’t care. You know, as long as Siakam plays as well as expected for say, three years.
This is the price teams have to pay to add a second big-time player, particularly the Pacers. Ideally, the Simon family will have to pony up some actually luxury tax payments because the Pacers are making playoff runs and adding talented players along the way. I’m not talking about second-apron crazy, but this trade pushed a lot of chips to the middle of the table and they can’t back down now in continuing to build around Haliburton. Regardless, any Siakam extension is going to be a bit salty. But the league’s new cap rules seem to be working to put the Pacers in position to make this deal.
The other concern, or hope if you will, is that the Pacers get the expected development from Benn Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and Jarace Walker at a minimum. The Pacers were able to avoid moving them and now the remainder of their respective rookie deals can make these players even more valuable contributors. Also, Ben Sheppard and maybe even Kendall Brown could help fill gaps going forward. With a top heavy cap, the young talent has to provide productive depth.
One last point to consider is that the Pacers still have Buddy Hield, Obi Toppin and Jalen Smith along with a few more draft picks to deal before the deadline. At this point, Hield’s shooting would be tough to lose, even if he hasn’t been making threes up to his normal standard of late. But, if the prospect of extending Hield’s contract just took a hit, they have to consider a deal (see Simon mention above). As for Toppin and Stix, they are stuck in a clogged spot behind Siakam now with Jarace Walker heading their way.
These are all good problems to work out for the Pacers thanks to KP taking a big swing to deliver Siakam which should make the remainder of this season quite entertaining. And then things will really get interesting.
On to the next one
The road show must go on, so the now short-handed Pacers will take on the Kings in Sacramento on Thursday night. The Pacers and league have not officially announced the deal for Siakam so when he suits up for the Pacers remains up in the air. The Pacers play in Portland on Friday and Phoenix on Sunday before heading back to Indy. Hopefully, Siakam can catch up with the Pacers in Portland.
Game Details
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: Bally Sports
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield, Jalen Smith, Myles Turner
Kings: De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Injuries
Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin (ankle) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (shin) - questionable, Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring) - out, Bruce Brown (trade) - out, Jordan Nwora (trade) - out
Kings: Keegan Murray (hip) - questionable
2 big win parts of this. Plugging the huge hole at 4 AND freeing up some more minutes for all our swingmen that were behind Bruce Brown. He was a fine player but we just had/have too many 6'5" swing guys that can't help up front. Ben seems to be turning a corner and might still yet be the 3d or 4th scorer we'll need.
With Siakam, Pacers now need to balance out their roster further with likely another trade. Hield is in his final year and reports are that Indy wants to trade him. Toppin was traded to Indy before the season, but he’s resigned to a bench role. With Siakam, Toppin simply isn’t needed. I would not be surprised to see Hield and/or Toppin moved before Feb. 5th. I know many want to see a shooter like Buddy with a player like Siakam, but the MLB is right that Indy has too many 6’4-6’5 players. So wouldn’t shock me to see some like Gordan Hayward get bought out and signed.