NBA Rumors: Raptors Having Talks On Siakam & Anunoby With "Multiple Teams"

Amidst all the Kyrie Irving madness of the past few days, the Toronto Raptors and their elite trade pieces kind of got lost in the shuffle. But they're back in the buzz around the league now, and the latest report, from Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, has Masai Ujiri & Co. in talks with "multiple teams" over two of their biggest stars.

The Raptors have had trade talks with multiple teams involving Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, per @KevinOConnorNBA

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O'Connor says that the Raptors are in conversations about both OG Anunoby AND Pascal Siakam (not to mention Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr.), and that the Brooklyn Nets are front and center in some of those talks.

He notes that the Raptors had interest in a Ben Simmons trade back in 2021 when he was embroiled in his "trade me" period with the Philadelphia 76ers. But back then, Simmons was still an All-Star. Two years later, he appears to be a shell of that formerly dominant player. 

"Though Scottie Barnes’s emergence would make Simmons a strange fit as they’re both non-shooters," writes O'Connor, "he does count as a buy-low, high-value target who could restore his career in time."

You certainly couldn't deny that Ujiri would look to capitalize on a "high risk, high reward" type of deal (see: Leonard, Kawhi, 2018). But it remains to be seen if Simmons' stock has simply fallen too low for the Raptors to revisit it. 

The Nets' big guard is averaging 7.4 points (about half his career mark), 6.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 37 games this season, while sitting out 15 games for various "ailments." His shot-taking per game is also down about 50% from where it was in his Philly days.

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