Watch the NBA | Siakam went to the Pacers

Transaction content

The Pacers get Siakam, a second-round pick offered by the Pelicans;

The Raptors got Bruce Brown, Jordan Walla, Kayla Lewis Jr., the lowest pick among the four teams in 2024 (in short, the Thunder or the Clippers in the first round this year), the 2024 Pacers first round, and the 2026 Pacers first round (1-4 pick protection);

The Pelicans were compensated in cash.

The Raptors completed the two trades of OG and Siakam without pressing the deadline, which is a contrast to the high-profile image of previous years. Ujiri is still pragmatic, and in the past, the price was high, which was insincere. Now that the negotiation is completed, it will be finalized as soon as possible, and I also know in my heart that it is not meaningful to raise the price again. The Raptors' previous asking price for Siakam refers to the OG trade, and the core one is to have young players with development value. This is in line with the Raptors' desire to quickly rebuild around Barnes. Barrett's performance so far when he returned to his hometown seems to show that there is no problem with the Raptors' thinking.

But there aren't many next homes like the Knicks on the market. The Raptors were able to get Quickley and Barrett, in the final analysis, because Quickley didn't know how to sign a suitable expiring contract, while Barrett signed a premium contract in New York that he regretted. OG and Siakam are great, but not everyone has the courage to take out their promising young people and go on a six-month gamble. Even if OG and Sika promise to renew their contracts, the former is a 3D after all, and you have to make sure that his appetite is not exaggerated. The latter is destined to be at a premium, and there doesn't seem to be much room for negotiation when signing a maximum salary.

Therefore, it seems that the next family who is pursuing Sika is a bunch, and when it comes to the core chips, everyone cares about him. The Kings are reluctant to play Keegan Murray, the Warriors are reluctant to play Kuminga Moody, and the Mavericks' pile is nothing to blame, and as a result, they don't want to play big. Sika's six-month contract is worth no more than Dejounte Murray and is of limited significance to the Eagles. The Pacers, who have a relatively good salary situation in the future, have become the expected Sika's next home, and even so, Mathurin and Jaras Walker are the bottom line that the Pacers will not breach.

If the Raptors continue to wait, will there be an unexpected next home, or will a team that is unwilling to let go now change its mind after a while?

This possibility is not ruled out. But the Raptors don't seem to want to drag it out. One influencing factor that cannot be ignored here is Siakam's attitude. In this deal, the Raptors as the seller can certainly decide whether Sika will stay now, but Sika himself can decide whether to stay in the summer, and if he does not express his willingness to renew the contract with the buyer, it will be difficult to negotiate the deal.

This may be why, the Raptors can't wait for the Kings and Warriors. The former has already stated that he does not want to give Sika a maximum salary, while the latter's mind is, "If you advance, you will renew Sika's contract for another three years, and if you retire, you will deal with a long-term contract to clear up space". In their eyes, Sika is both a star and an expiring contract, and the upper limit they are probably willing to pay for Sika is the price to pay for Wiggins to an expiring contract. Obviously, Ugeri is not a fool.

In this case, Haliburton made a move and won Sika's heart, and all three parties felt that this could be done, and it was done.

The Pacers finally gave the Raptors three first-rounders, and it seems that the number is more than the two young people the Raptors ask for, but in fact, these three first-round picks are not high. One is destined to be the end of the first round (depending on the ranking of the Thunder and Clippers this year), and one is the middle and late stage of the first round (depending on the Pacers' ranking this year). There is also one that depends on the situation of the Pacers two years later, and extrapolating from the timeline of the Pacers, if nothing else, the middle and late stages of the first round will not be able to run. And Mathurin and Walker are the 6th pick in 2022 and the 8th pick in 2023, respectively, and their value is much higher than those three first-rounders.

Siakam's role in this game is also interesting.

On the surface, Sika is a bit of a comedy, and he stated early on that he would not renew his contract with the next club if he was traded. The posture is to hit the best team, and in the summer, he won the super cap salary of 35% of the salary cap in one fell swoop.

As a result, the Raptors finally couldn't help but say something that hurt their face: Brother, don't fight, even if you take it, we won't give it.

It's like thinking that "I just need to go ashore" or "I just need to finish my studies" to marry him, but on the other side there is no you in the future plan?

No, no, no, Sika wasn't so naïve, and even if he was, his agent wouldn't.

Sika's attitude, in the final analysis, is to hold the final decision-making power of the transaction in his own hands. For him, there are 4 possible summer divisions by level:

S-level, got the best team, and signed a super cap salary of 35% salary cap with the Raptors;

A-level, with the team that holds his bird rights (Raptors or the team that gets him in a trade), sign a 5-year salary of 260 million (according to the salary cap 10% increase rate);

Class B, sign a maximum salary with a team that holds the rights of other birds, or leave the team from the free market and sign a maximum salary of 193 million for 4 years;

Class C, leaving the team from the free market to sign the highest salary.

With Sika's level of strength and age, he should get a B contract. But now it's a situation where there are fewer good players and more buyers, which gives him the opportunity to get an A-level contract. While it will be difficult for Sika to accept losing him from free agency after getting him, the threat is still a lose-lose situation for Sika in the Dark Forest, as the departure is capped at a B contract.

Therefore, Sika made a gesture of lifting the roof (striving for an S-level contract), which was a promise to open the skylight (for an A-level contract). This is the case, and he can shout "It's exciting to play for the great coach Carlisle".

The Raptors didn't make a move at the peak of Sika's trade value last year, and it was actually good to get that return. Although the three draft picks are not high, they are the first round. Bruce Brown looks like a good player, but he shouldn't take 22 million a year. However, Brown's $23 million next season is a team option, and he could also be on an expiring contract. Let's see how the Raptors choose.

For the Pacers, the deal was okay too. As for Sika's compatibility with the Pacers, we have already talked about it in this paid article:

To put it simply, Sika's offensive and defensive characteristics can fill some of the gaps in the Pacers, but they are not a perfect fit, and there are some misalignments in style and age. It can be evaluated as:

"It's a player that the Pacers need, but not necessarily a player who has to take a risk and pay a big price. ”

The price the Pacers paid in this deal actually matched the significance and risk of Sika for them. The Pacers didn't pay for their two high-pick rookies, and Mathurin and Walker represent potential bonus contracts and roster ceilings for the Pacers that can't be easily sacrificed. The 3 first-rounders given are all recent low picks, which may have become the bench reserve of the Pacers in the next 2~3 years, which can be made up for in other ways and can be sacrificed.

Bruce Brown is the epitome of the Pacers' competitiveness in the free market, and they need to offer a premium contract to pursue a quality sixth-man caliber star. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have gotten their hands on Siakam from the free market. Taking people at a premium in the market, keeping people at a premium and falling into the "middle-class trap", or avoiding the "middle-class trap" to lose their combat power, is a perennial problem faced by teams like the Pacers. But they have the rising Haliburton, and there is a real need to build a serious team, and sooner or later they need to take a step forward.

You can understand that the Pacers spent three low-pick first-round picks to upgrade the premium contract for a star of Brown's caliber to a potential premium contract for Siakam, which is a reasonable price.

As for pelicans, two words can be explained: tax avoidance.

Overall, I don't think there's anything wrong with this deal for all parties. Maybe the Raptors and Pacers are not over in the market, and teams that are in demand for expiring contracts will have to keep an eye on them.