Pascal Siakam has proven to be a bit of an obstacle for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors are expected to rebuild, with Siakam expected to tumble after the OG Anunoby trade, which was only the first domino to fall.
Teams haven’t been particularly motivated to trade for the forward/center, though.
Siakam has stated that he plans to test free agency rather than re-sign with any team that trades for him, according to a report on Locked on the NBA podcast (via Legion Hoops).
Honestly, his trade value has plummeted as there isn’t much need to throw in a lot of money for a player who might quit a few months later.
Masai Ujiri is simply a tough negotiator; he doesn’t enjoy to “lose” deals and would probably prefer to let Siakam leave for free rather than send him somewhere else at a reduced price.
The Raptors could certainly utilize as many assets as they could acquire for Siakam, given they most likely won’t make the playoffs this season.
Siakam can play hard on both ends of the court, spread the floor, create players for others, and other things, thus his skill set might be highly sought after in free agency.
However, given his age and the terms of this CBA, it’s unlikely that he’ll command a large salary in free agency, so his best option would be to re-sign with whoever trades for him.
We’ll simply have to wait and watch how this plays out for the time being.
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