3 Reasons why the Pascal Siakam trade was a massive win for Pacers

Ladies and gentlemen, the Indiana Pacers have finally done it. After weeks of speculation and concern over the possibility of losing Bennedict Mathurin or Jarace Walker, the Pacers have officially traded for (now former) Toronto Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam.

And the best part? They traded for Siakam without giving up any core pieces. As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the final trade package sent to Toronto consisted of Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks (one of which is the Pacers'), and Indiana's own 2026 first-round pick.

Unsurprisingly, this move sent shockwaves through the league, especially with Pacers and Raptors fans, as most were expecting Indiana to give up at least one piece of their young core to attain Siaikam, who, despite being on an expiring contract, is still valued as a game-changer for a team and was All-NBA two years ago and an All-Star the previous season.

However, as negotiations continued and Toronto and Indiana inched closer to a deal, it became clear that Mathurin and Walker were off-limits in the eyes of the Pacers, and a trade would be built around draft picks.

This report sparked doubt amongst fans who hypothesized that Toronto allowed the trade reports to leak in hopes that another team would offer a better deal. Unfortunately for the Raptors, that deal never arrived, and at roughly 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the deal was finalized for Pascal Siakam to be an Indiana Pacer.

Prior to the trade, and even more so after it, the main concern, and perhaps the only one among Pacers fans, has been Siakam's looming expiring contract. The fear is that Siakam may bolt off to another team in free agency the first chance he gets and leave Indiana with nothing.

This was precisely why fans were hesitant to include Walker or Mathurin in the deal and why final negotiations did not include either of the two youngsters or even Andrew Nembhard, who Raptors fans were hoping to get as some consolation prize.

However, even with the trade being finalized, even with Siakam on his way to Indiana for practically pennies on the dollar, and even with Jarace, Mathurin, and Nembhard staying in Indiana, some Pacers fans still have their doubts about the trade. Here are three reasons why the Indiana Pacers trade for Pascal Siakam was an absolute win.

1. Marginal draft capital given up

The main gripe given by Indiana Pacers fans, Raptors fans, and the rest of the league, is that Indiana had to give up three first-round picks for Siakam. For an expiring contract who has shown reluctance to re-sign with any team that trades for him, three first-round picks seems like a lot, and on the surface, it certainly looks that way.

Outside of already drafted youngsters, first-round picks are the most valuable assets a rebuilding team like the Raptors can have, and nabbing three of them for a player with one foot out the door is good value. However, context matters here.

For one, the picks Indiana is given Toronto will, barring some tumultuous event, most likely be in the mid-20s. Currently, Indiana's 2024 pick given to Toronto is projected to be the 19th pick, which will most likely go down after Siakam nabs some extra wins for the Pacers.

In addition, the "worst of" pick Toronto also received is currently projected to be in spot 27 (ironically, the same place Siakam was drafted). With this being said, it is completely understandable why Indiana would give up these picks that they would have otherwise traded or used to fill up their G-League roster for a chance at keeping an All-NBA level player long-term.

The third pick Toronto got for Siakam is Indiana's own 2026 first, which may be even less valuable than their current first at this rate. In 2026, Siakam will be on the second year of his hypothetical new contract, Haliburton will be 26 and not even in his prime yet, Myles Turner will be 30, most likely in the middle or tail end of his prime, Bennedict Mathurin will be 24, and Jarace Walker will be 23 years old and most likely a rotation player.

Indiana could possibly hit its peak in 2026 when the pick is conveyed, and by that time, it may very well be in the late-20s as well. To summarize, these picks will not convey too much of note for the Pacers, and they are better off with a rebuilding team like Toronto.

To further make a point, Indiana's last few draft picks, with the exception of Mathurin and Walker, consisted of Chris Duarte (who lasted two seasons in Indiana before being shipped off), Goga Bitadze (never really panned out and was traded for scraps), Aaron Holiday (wasn't given a chance to shine in Indiana and is now in Houston), and TJ Leaf (notoriously one of the worst draft picks in Pacers history).

It's pretty safe to say Indiana did not need those picks and is far better off taking a gamble on a player as good as Siakam.

2. Minimal roster depth given up

The main reason why the Pascal Siakam trade to Indiana was such a plus for the Pacers is the sheer lack of depth given up for an All-NBA caliber player. As mentioned before, before the trade, it was seen as a downright guarantee that at least one Indiana youngster would be included in a potential Siakam trade.

Some Raptors fans were even confident they could squeeze two youngsters out of the front office. However, as reports ramped up and it became more clear that the deal would be centered around picks, the desperation from Raptors fans increased and quickly turned into delusion as they prayed for Indiana to cave and include a young player to make the deal happen faster.

Unfortunately for Raptors fans, this was not the case, and the deal was done with Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora being the only players being sent to Toronto. Now, while Bruce Brown is a good player and was certainly valuable for Indiana, replacing him with Pascal Siakam is an absolute win that any team would do, even Brown's former Denver Nuggets team, where he is a folk hero.

Going into the second half of the season before the All-Star break, Indiana's rotation remains just about the same at the moment, with Bruce Brown being directly replaced by Pascal Siakam.

As for Jordan Nwora, while he is talented as a scorer and deserves a place in a team's rotation, that team was never going to be Indiana, and the flashes he showed as a scorer were quite few and far between as the past few games with Nwora in the rotation have been riddled with inconsistency and poor shot selection. As such, Nwora never had a steady place in a fully healthy Pacers rotation, even without Siakam.

To make things a bit easier to understand, imagine a historically great offense through 40 games. Now imagine taking a role player out and replacing him with an All-NBA level talent without removing anyone else. That is essentially what the Indiana Pacers did and that is what other teams are going to have to gameplan for.

3. Highest chance to keep Pascal Siakam long-term

Saved the best for last.

By far the biggest concern Pacers fans and in general NBA fans had with a Siakam trade was the very real possibility of the trade being rendered useless if he were to leave in free agency. At the time of writing, Siakam was only contracted for about five more months and was set to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career in June of 2024.

With Siakam already declining a lesser offer from Toronto in the summer and the team letting him know that a max contract offer would not be headed his way, the writing was on the wall for the Raptors to either lose him for nothing or get some value back for their disgruntled All-Star.

Before the trade, a lot of Pacers fans were turned off by Siakam's expiring contract and, myself included, thought that a better idea would be to bid on him in free agency. However, without a head start and bird rights, Indiana would be playing a tough game trying to lure an All-Star to the Pacers.

Prior to Siakam, the most notable free agent to sign with Indiana was 31-year-old David West, who, while still productive, was not the same player he was in New Orleans. With this in mind, Indiana decided to swing for the fences early, giving up expendable assets to obtain the best chance at re-signing Siakam come free agency.

In addition to this, Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are already familiar with each other, with them getting acquainted at 2023 All-Star Weekend and being good friends off the court. This, combined with Haliburton's play style and ability to help any player improve, especially one with Siakam's play style, should do wonders in convincing Pascal to re-sign with the Basketball State come June.

All in all, Indiana made an A+ move trading for Siakam, especially with keeping all of their young players while doing it. Any Pacers fans still skeptical about the trade will most likely fall in love after one game of the Haliburton/Siakam tandem. Buckle up, Pacers fans; this is going to be a fun ride.