Does this trade make sense for the Toronto Raptors?
The Raptors should absolutely explore some trade opportunities for Siakam given that rookie Barnes news to remain in the starting rotation and the fact that Pascal Siakam’s value is as high as it is going to be in this league, but this is not the best trade they can get.
At 27-years-old and turning 28 this season, Siakam’s upside is limited and the Raptors definitely have the talent to replace him.
Scottie Barnes has been fantastic in his first season in the league and with OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and others only getting better, Toronto would be just fine in their frontcourt without Siakam.
Trading him for a ton of value definitely makes sense for this franchise, but Portland does not have much value to offer up. They are a playoff team, so any draft picks traded would likely be near the end of the first-round in terms of value right now, and none of the players they have to trade really make Toronto a better team.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Raptors-Warriors Trade Is Centered Around Pascal Siakam
Jusuf Nurkic would now be fighting for minutes with Achiuwa and Birch, Covington would be doing the same with Anunoby and Barnes, and then the Raptors would have to be willing to open up their checkbooks to pay Anfernee Simons this offseason since he is going to be a restricted free agent.
When you look at teams around the league who could be interested in Siakam, the Philadelphia 76ers are the first team that comes to mind and they have one player they can offer up that makes their trade package 10x better than that of the Blazers’ in terms of value — Ben Simmons.
The Toronto Raptors have been interested in Simmons since this past offseason and that interest could still be around. Trading Siakam for Simmons definitely makes the Raptors a better defensive team and he could be the facilitator and All-Star they need to become a real threat in the playoffs again.
The Raptors currently rank 11th in the league in defensive rating and with Simmons, they could jump even higher in the league rankings on defense.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Raptors-Warriors Trade Is Centered Around Pascal Siakam
Potentially moving Pascal Siakam is definitely something the Raptors should be looking into, but this trade with the Portland Trail Blazers does not give them the fair value they need in a trade.
