The Indiana Pacers made one of the biggest all-in moves that they have made in a long time right before the trade deadline. Indiana traded three first-round picks, Jordan Nwora, and Bruce Brown in order to acquire Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors.
When they made that trade, they were pretty confident that they were going to be able to re-sign him at the end of the year. What made it such a big gamble was that Siakam was going to be a free agent at the end of the season. There was no guarantee that he'd want to come back.
Siakam was a great pick-up for the Pacers. He was one of the biggest reasons why they made the Eastern Conference Finals. With him as a part of the offense, they are much more dangerous. They're better on defense too. Now, he's going to be a big part of their future.
Pascal Siakam signs a max contract with the Indiana Pacers
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Siakam is returning to Indiana on a four-year $189.5 million contract. He was the biggest priority for the Pacers this offseason. They wanted him to be paired with Tyrese Haliburton for the foreseeable future and clearly Siakam wanted that as well.
Since it's a four-year deal, the Pacers have a little more flexibility with the cap this season. They have about $2 million more to use this offseason. That might not sound like much, but it could help them land a third star depending on what happens with some other players in free agency.
The Pacers are a really good team. Keeping Siakam could mean that Obi Toppin is out the door, but they would also like to keep him. With their biggest priority taken care of, they can move down the line of other players in free agency.
Siakam becomes the first player this offseason to sign a deal with a team. It's a good day for the Indiana Pacers.