NBA Rumors: Time To Put Any & All Siakam Trade Rumors To Rest

We've seen it many times in the NBA. Coaches and other front office officials sometimes like to tell the media a player won't be traded, and then you turn around the next day and the player is gone. But when Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri talked about Pascal Siakam today, he didn't have to try to convince anyone. You could see the emotion in every fiber of his being. 

Masai Ujiri gets emotional talking about all the stuff Pascal Siakam has overcome the last few years.

"That's who you want to go to war with." pic.twitter.com/7upLK3FLBQ

— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) May 3, 2022

"What that guy went through (criticism he received for a bad playoff performance in the Bubble, and racist comments thrown his way)... I'm so proud of him. Watching his press conference the other day: I want that guy on my team. I want that kind of fighter on my team. If you can come back from that in life — you saw what people called him... He withstood it... Those things crack people. And he grew out of it. And to see him... fight and fight. That's who you want to go to war with... go to battle with. I'm incredibly proud of Pascal."

This does not look or sound like the words and feelings of a man who wants to trade away Pascal Siakam. 

The 27-year-old is considered a favorite to make his second All-NBA Team after his performance this season, which included 22.8 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in leading the Raptors to an unexpected 5-seed in the Eastern Conference. He was an All-Star and an All-NBA selection in 2020. 

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports