Pascal Siakam is likely among the best second options the Indiana Pacers have ever had. He is a capable defender on the perimeter, an excellent fit in their high-speed offense, and a more-than-proficient shot creator on the minimal iso budget within that offense.
If he is all that, why do most of the trade machine screenshots for the Pacers show them primarily acquiring scorers? It is a total misunderstanding of the roster and its culture.
Seriously, the Pacers have one of the most well-balanced rosters in the league. While they lack a top-five player that one would archetypically need to contend, they have above-average starters at each spot, highlighted by their three best players.
The trio of Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac lacks a prototypical big scorer, but makes up for it with three of the most underrated individual skill sets in the league. To demand another scorer for numbers' sake is to lose track of that identity as a whole.
However, it is not a take that comes without any factual basis. The Pacers probably do need more scoring, although it shouldn't come in a form that disrupts Indiana's identity.
The ideal way to find the best of both worlds is for Pascal Siakam to take another leap.
Can a 32-year-old take another leap? One that would be the third or fourth of his career?
Let's take a look.
Do the Pacers need another scorer?
Indiana had the third most potent offense in the playoffs during their run to the Finals. They averaged a shade over 114 points per contest and had six players averaging in double digits. While two of those six are no longer on the roster, they have been replaced by Zubac and free agent acquisition Kelly Oubre Jr., who will surely do the same.
Siakam was the leading scorer on that squad at 20.5 points per game. While that is monumentally lower than what one would expect, as 20 players averaged more points per game than the leading scorer on a Finals team.
That should signal a team shortcoming. How could Indiana have a top-three offense in the playoffs without a top-20 scorer? Wouldn't a second scorer take this team's scoring to supernova levels?
Probably not.
Pascal Siakam and the flow offense
One of the biggest flaws in how fans see the NBA comes from 2K. The basketball simulation game has allowed fans to come closer to running their own franchise than ever before. That has resulted in basketball becoming defined by fan formulas – and this time, we're not even talking about analytics.
Adding a potent scorer like Trey Murphy III, who, on paper, seems like a straight upgrade to the Aaron Nesmith archetype, sounds good if you want 2K to give your roster better stats in simulation, but adding him undermines the Pacers' biggest strength.
Everybody eats.
No player has a high usage rate. The team does not have marks to hit for player participation. Led by their top three, they simply play in the flow of their own offense.
There is no better player for this than Pascal Siakam, who soaks up isolation possessions only when they are needed, not when he wants them.
While someone like Murphy would likely not want too many on-ball possessions, he certainly would want to get his shots up en route to earning a big deal. Team cultures can change players, but players can change team cultures as well.
The Pacers may need more scoring, but that can come from the bench.
Pascal Siakam is the best leading scorer this team could have.
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