Grade the Trade: Pacers land Pascal Siakam in 3-team blockbuster deal

The Indiana Pacers just completely turned the NBA on its head with the news that they will be trading for two-time All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam and pairing him up with Tyrese Haliburton.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN both reported the news, with the former relying on his previous reporting that the two sides were close to a deal.

The New Orleans Pelicans are also involved in the trade as a third team, but it’s currently unknown as to what they are receiving in the deal. Clarity will surely come at some point throughout the next day or two.

Here is the full outline of the trade (that is currently known:

Pacers receive: Pascal Siakam, Second-round pick (via NOP)

Raptors receive: Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr., 2024 first-round pick (via IND), 2024 first-round pick (worst of UTA/HOU/LAC/OKC via IND), 2026 first-round pick (via IND)

Pelicans receive: TBD (Likely a heavily-protected second or cash considerations. They just wanted to dump Lewis.)

Siakam has been having a solid year for the Raptors, and based on Wojnarowski’s reporting, it seems as though he could be willing to sign a contract extension in Indiana this summer, which is great news for the Pacers.

So far this year, the All-Star forward is averaging 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 52.2% from the field and 31.7% from behind the three-point line.

Losing Bruce Brown is a tough blow as the Pacers just landed him this summer, but he only has one year left on his deal after this one, and it’s a team option. He’ll be able to find a new home this offseason (if he wants one).

As for the Pelicans, it seems as though their involvement in the trade stems from the desire to ditch Kira Lewis Jr. and his contract, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Let’s take a look at the deal as a whole and grade it for the Pacers and Raptors (since the Pelicans don’t have much involvement. They get a C-.)