In recent days, there’s understandably been nonstop talk over the prospect of Damian Lillard—and, to a lesser extent, James Harden—being traded.
Lillard is coming off arguably his best individual season, averaging 32.2 points per game on a sparkling 56.4% effective field-goal rate, the best mark of his career. Any contender who acquires him figures to be even more in the mix for an NBA title. And even Harden, if he was to land with the Clippers or stay with the Sixers, would at least be worthy of a pause. Those clubs could certainly win big with him if they catch lightning in a bottle and stay healthy in the playoffs.
Yet, for all the big-star hunting involving superstars that gets talked about this time of year, it sometimes is easy to overlook moves that are a step or two beneath that level. The Hawks made a couple of big ones last summer, for instance, not only making the deal with San Antonio for Dejounte Murray, but also unloading sharpshooter Kevin Huerter to Sacramento, a cost-saving move by Atlanta that helped the Kings end a historically long postseason drought of 17 years to reach the playoffs.
With all that in mind, it’s intriguing to see Toronto forward Pascal Siakam’s name being floated in rumors lately, as the team retools after Fred VanVleet’s free-agency exit. The Raptors don’t appear to be keen on offering Siakam—who last season averaged 24 points, nearly eight rebounds and almost six assists—a max contract extension of four years and $192 million, despite his being slated to become a free agent next summer. It begs the question of who would be willing to pay him what he wants, and which such teams would be willing to sacrifice to prompt Toronto to make a deal involving him.
Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, who has long covered the Raptors, mentioned the Hawks, Pacers and Magic as possible landing spots for the two-time All-Star. And all three teams would certainly become more interesting upon getting a one-time All-NBA player like Siakam.
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Of course that isn’t the same thing as it making sense for all the aforementioned clubs. Orlando has a glut of talented ballhandlers already—in fact, the Magic’s two best players are playmaking forwards around the same height as Siakam—in addition to having a core considerably younger than the 29-year-old. He’d make the Magic more talented, but at the same time, the club needs spacing and perimeter shooting more than it needs yet another driver who can get to the basket.
The Pacers make a bit more sense, both because they have a handful of vets in their rotation closer to Siakam’s age, but also because they have an up-tempo offensive attack led by young star Tyrese Haliburton that could use another high-end weapon. Siakam’s skill set would provide more defense in Indiana, too—much needed, even after the high-priced Bruce Brown signing.
But the Hawks are perhaps the most interesting team in this scenario. They have the most veteran star talent of teams Grange mentioned in his report. And, as has been discussed in recent months, everyone is looking at Atlanta’s situation through the prism of this being an evaluation period for new coach Quin Snyder, to gauge how he feels about the pairing between Murray and Trae Young. The club just reached an extension with Murray, which would only figure to crank up the pressure on the 24-year-old Young, who averaged 26 points and 10 assists, but did so on some of the worst shooting efficiency of his career. Dealing for a balanced player like Siakam and seeing what a third star gives Snyder and the Hawks, sure. And depending on who is shipped out—wing De’Andre Hunter, for instance—perhaps prior logjams would be streamlined a bit more. (Atlanta recently dealt John Collins, who was in every trade rumor under the sun in the years before.) But does a player like Siakam help ease the fit between Young and Murray? Or can a full offseason learning Snyder’s schemes accomplish that?
Assuming Siakam does end up being moved, it will be fascinating to see where he goes, particularly if it’s one of these three teams. None are thought of as sexy free-agent destinations, making it a rare opportunity for them. And two of the clubs—Indiana and Orlando—are ready to experience the postseason again; while the Hawks tasted success back in 2021, but are coming up on a massive organizational question about what the next step for the franchise looks like.
