Yang Yikanqiu: Siakam can't win the championship, so what are the Pacers trying to do?
Siakam is finally gone. What's more cruel is that as the de facto second-in-command of the 2019 championship team, Toronto fans may not miss him in the future.
He's been in Toronto for far too long. There he grew from a Vanderbilt-style player who couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot, and was only motivated by his size and athleticism, to become a star in his own unique way, a kind of model for latecomers, and the fifth-most scoring athlete in Toronto's history, which is almost a miracle in basketball history. But after being sprayed with championship champagne for five years, after the past two unsmooth seasons, he and the Raptors still reached the stage of hating each other.
Even though he played 1 for the Raptors, 5 for the Raptors, being a star when the Raptors didn't have a star, and giving up the ball when the Raptors wanted to raise Scottie Barnes, the Raptors still thought he was in the way and sent him away despite his desire to stay with the team, so much so that it seemed disrespectful to a two-time All-Star and two-time All-Star team champion. But he's just Siakam, and no one is going to cry out for him. Maybe this deal should have happened a long time ago, but Ujri's asking price for him was too high to find him willing to take over.
Ujri, one of the NBA's best-known general managers, missed out on the best trade window due to his greed, but his wisdom led him to accept the Pacers' seemingly lucrative but mediocre offer: three first-rounders, Bruce Brown, Jordan Walla and Kira Lewis Jr.
Brown, a member of last season's NBA championship team, has a good defense and is good off-ball, but the contract amount is significantly higher than his level, and the Raptors are likely not to exercise his team option this summer, and Kira Lewis Jr. may still have potential, but his three-plus years with the Pelicans have been a mess. They are better than nothing to the Raptors. As for the three first-rounders, considering that two of them are draft picks this year, the value isn't particularly high.
2024 is a recognized draft year. In the way of high emotional intelligence, it is said that "there is no obvious leader at present", and in the way of low emotional intelligence, it is said that "the general cannot be pulled out in the short". Alex Sarr, who seems to be the most promising player at the moment, is nothing more than a center who averages 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in the Australian NBL league, and was visibly suppressed by Yang Hansen in last year's World Youth Championship against China.
ESPN asked 20 NBA executives and scouts to predict whether the 2024 draft would be better than the infamous 2013 draft. Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the class of 2013, was cut from his rookie contract, and only three players (Oladipo, Antetokounmpo and Gobert) were selected as All-Stars, widely regarded as the worst draft in history. Even so, 13 of the 20 seasoned insiders believe that this year's level is not as good as in 2013, and two others voted about the same. It can be seen that the 2024 first-round pick - especially the non-high first-round pick - really has no special meaning for NBA teams.
Therefore, the core assets that the Pacers pay are nothing more than the first round in 2026 (which is likely not to be protected and protected) and salary space. With a midseason final finish and a regular season finish above the Eastern Conference play-offs, we can expect the Pacers to be on the plate for the next two years, with draft picks of limited value. As for salary space, it's probably the least important asset for a team like the Pacers — there's simply no way an All-Star-caliber free agent would choose Indiana. Now, without breaking the muscles, Siakam can get a good match for the team's style, which is already the best result for the Pacers.
Siakam is a power forward according to the traditional basketball positional philosophy, but for an athlete with a 203-centimeter and 222-centimeter reach, his mobility is too strong. His style of play is more akin to a tall wing for a lot of the time, and in 2021-22 he played at both the Raptors' starting center and starting point guard. He has never refused to play different roles depending on the needs of the team, which is why many consider him one of the most versatile players in the NBA.
In this day and age, generalists are not necessarily a compliment. There are many players in the NBA who claim to be "all-rounders", but there are very few all-rounders who can really give full play to their full abilities. Real stars always want to play at certain times and with specific teammates, and they want to be in their comfort zone and play the way they like. Given that they really have a unique advantage in what they are good at, the all-rounder is often the one who makes the sacrifice in the end, only to make way for the real star.
Siakam is that kind of all-rounder, which is his weakness when he leads the team as a top player, but if you see him as the second leader of a team, it's his strength. His skill set and experience look like a perfect match for the Indiana Pacers:
The Pacers are short of power forwards, and Siakam is a former All-Star and All-NBA No. 4 at the All-Star level;
The Pacers have a lot of rookies in the playoffs, and Siakam has experience winning championships;
Siakam can play with Haliburton in the starting lineup, has good dribbling ability, can bring his own substitutes in the transition period, and even has the opportunity to develop a strategy in which he holds the ball and Haliburton plays without the ball, including some reverse screens that Haliburton gives him;
The Raptors' offense has long relied on transition, and Siakam can act as both a finisher and an initiator in this system, which is undoubtedly conducive to the seamless integration of his high-speed offense with the Pacers this season;
His offensive efficiency was problematic last season, but it was widely believed to be related to the Raptors' poor shooting and space, and this season the Pacers have much better space;
After reducing his usage rate this season, his true shooting percentage has increased dramatically, and his three-point shooting has stabilized, and he has played 20 games since December, shooting 3.4 three-pointers per game and shooting 44.1 percent from the field.
The Pacers' offense is a bit too reliant on three-point shooting, and at some point in the playoffs, they need to respond from mid-range, and Siakam is a fairly productive mid-range scorer who can complete their offensive pattern;
He has a good resume on the defensive end, and although he may not be a top-tier leader or assistant defender, he has good size and athleticism, and even though his defensive performance has declined in the past two years, he is significantly better than any Pacers player at the No. 3 or No. 4 position, and it is expected that he can make a solid defensive contribution after being traded, and improve the defensive efficiency of the Pacers, who are now only ranked 26th in the league.
In fact, the situation in the East has been particularly chaotic this year, and the Pacers previously ranked first in the league in total salary, but they can still rank sixth in the East with a 23-17 record, and obviously see hope of entering the top of the league. They need a proven star like Siakam to solidify and leapfrog their position. For a team that was seen by the league before this season, after such a leap in strength in one year, will this be the end of the road?
- Maybe not.
Previously, when the Raptors negotiated with the Kings, Siakam announced that he would not renew his contract with the Kings even if the trade was successful, but that looked more like part of the negotiation technique, because he would not be traded and stay with the Raptors to get the most money (307 million in 5 years). But now that the trade has taken place, it has become that he can get the most money by staying with the Pacers (247 million for five years), and Siakam immediately recognized this and conveyed his willingness to renew his contract with the Pacers this summer. But with the Pacers owning his bird rights, they could even sign some more quality players — or even a star — to Haliburton and Siakam this summer, and then complete a salary cap extension through Bird and Siakam.
Overall, the Pacers have boldly demonstrated their ambitions with this deal. As long as Haliburton and Siakam stay healthy, the Pacers are firmly in the second group in the East and have a chance to wrestle with teams like the Heat and Knicks. Considering that the 76ers have a floor in the playoffs and the Bucks are not solid, and can even expect the Pacers to cause them some problems, it's no wonder that Pacers president Kevin Pritchard has been busy declaring victory: "We are very pleased to welcome to Indiana Pascal [Siakam], a two-time All-NBA All-Star and a two-time NBA All-Star, a player our team has long admired and respected. We think his unique attacking skills will complement our style of play, and his defensive versatility will be a valuable asset to our team!"
There's always a risk in trading a soon-to-be 30-year-old star and giving him a five-year salary cap, but it's a gamble with a high floor and a high ceiling. The future is illusory, and the opportunity to grasp it in the present has not been missed by the Pacers. This is also in line with the Pacers' consistent style of playing hob meat in the East over the past few years: to fight, to win, never give up until absolutely necessary, at the crossroads of fate, in the choice of going further or one step back, they are always willing to charge forward regardless of the future, seize the day. You may never fail while sitting at home, but what do you gain by not failing?
The only chance in this life is right in front of you, and you should always try it.