NBA trade season is officially upon us as the second major deal of the season has been finalized. The Raptors sent All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam to the Pacers in a three-team deal. In return, the Pacers are sending veteran Bruce Brown Jr., Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks to the Raptors; the Pelicans got involved to send young guard Kira Lewis to the Raptors for cash considerations.
The deal followed the Raptors' previous move, sending forward OG Anunoby to the Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, a deal that has produced immediate dividends for them, both currently and moving forward.
Toronto’s situation following its 2019 championship has always been a little tricky. After the departure of 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to Los Angeles and the trading of a longtime staple of the franchise, Kyle Lowry, the team was left directionless and positionless with a myriad of long and toolsy young talents to utilize.
Two of those were Anunoby and Siakam, but since they’ve been dealt away, it seems as though the team is choosing to build around the blossoming Scottie Barnes. It makes sense considering Head Coach Darko Rajakovic’s claims that Barnes will be, “the face of the league."
More on the Siakam deal for Indiana — it has been fascinating to see the continued unfolding of the Paul George deal from back in July 2017. In the continued flipping of the pieces involved in that deal, the Pacers have rebuilt their future, acquiring potential All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton and now Siakam with the pieces obtained.
Indiana has been one of the most fun offenses in the league all season with the emergence of Haliburton, so it’s no mystery why they felt pressured to acquire a second star like Siakam. They play a high-paced style of offense that stretches the floor to its current boundaries, giving Siakam more freedom to operate than he was granted by the Raptors. Spacing in the NBA is like a lock pick to a door. In Toronto, Siakam was fine squeezing his way through the keyhole, but now he’s got the whole doorway.
Kira Lewis, the former 2019 lottery pick out of Alabama, shouldn’t be forgotten in this deal either. Toronto was able to nab him from New Orleans as an add-on so that Indiana wouldn’t be forced to give up additional pieces to match Siakam’s salary, but Lewis could end up being much more than a throw-in.
On a guard-hungry team like Toronto, he’ll likely see more playing time in contrast to his New Orleans tenure. Lewis is a speedy playmaker with a nose for the rim, and while the shot hasn’t fallen, on a seemingly rebuilding Toronto team, he should be able to play through his mistakes to a degree.
Overall, this is likely just the second of many deals to come in the next month as the NBA trade deadline fast approaches. Teams will be scrambling to find the missing piece or scrape in any assets they can find. All we can do is sit back, watch and see how it plays out.
Logan Adams is a sophomore studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Logan know by tweeting him @LoganA_NBA.
