Raptors Rumors: 2 Surprising Teams Linked to Pascal Siakam Trade

Now that OG Anunoby has been shipped out, the rumour mill in Toronto will be solely focused on the future of Pascal Siakam for the next 5 weeks until the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 8th. He can become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and it’s unclear whether the Raptors want to give him the max contract (or something close to it) that he is allegedly seeking.

As Toronto heads into a retooling and a new era of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, they would be well advised to make sure Siakam doesn’t leave after the season for nothing as a free agent, as Fred VanVleet did last summer.

With that, we’ve heard the rumblings all season of three top suitors who are interested in the Raptors leading scorer, including the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings. 

But now two new surprising teams have entered the mix, with rumours of the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons being interested in Siakam. That’s according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Insider Shams Charania’s recent comments about the Pistons’ need for a power forward seem to confirm their interest:  "The Pistons do want a 4-man in free agency ... I'm told some names to keep an eye on, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Tobias Harris as well as Miles Bridges." 

Do the Pistons want to supercharge their potential return to respectability under expensive head coach Monty Williams? Would Siakam be enough to get that done? 

As for the Grizzlies, rejuvenated with the return of Ja Morant, they already consider themselves a potential playoff contender.

Each of the teams with interest have some intriguing assets to get a deal done if it gets to that point.

The Dallas Mavericks are another team that’s expected to try to strike a deal with Toronto, but it’s doubtful they have the assets to pull it off. 

Trading Siakam will obviously be difficult for team president Masai Ujiri, who has been especially fond of the Cameroonian, and his rapid rise and development into a two-time All-Star, an All-NBA Team selection, and of course, an NBA champion. Siakam and Chris Boucher are the last two Raptors from that 2019 title-winning team. 

The 29-year-old has led the team in scoring for the past five seasons, this year, sitting at 21.9 points per game along with 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Last year he averaged a career-high 24.2 PPG and 5.8 assists. 

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