What should Siakam do if the Pacers miss the Warriors with interior reinforcements?
Siakam's trade, the Warriors still didn't catch up after all. According to the latest news, the Raptors, Pacers and Pelicans reached a three-way deal, Siakam returned to Indiana and Haliburton, and the Warriors still fell short. Interior reinforcements have been missed, are the Warriors really going to miss the playoffs this season?
The Pacers had plenty of chips, and they fast-tracked to complete the Siakam trade. Three first-round picks were the protagonists of the deal. After Siakam joined the team, the Pacers' roster became extraordinarily strong, with Myles Turner and Siakam on the inside, and Haliburton on the outside, which is very impressive in the East.
Neither Bruce Brown nor Jordan Walla will agree to the Pacers' trade chips, but those three first-round picks will really play a decisive role. The Raptors can make a difference. Brown and Walla can provide some help, Brown can also play a role as a champion player, and the Raptors can also choose to continue trading Brown, who has only 23 million left on his contract and is a team option, and the Knicks are said to have ambitions for him. With this deal, the Raptors quickly cleared the hurdles and prepared everything for Scott Barnes to take the position.
As for the Pacers, it is said that Haliburton personally went down to persuade Siakam to vote and renew his contract with the Pacers, and the Pacers' total salary is only $130 million, ranking 30th in the league, and it is just right to give Siakam a contract with the highest salary this summer. Coming to the Pacers, Siakam can fit into the Pacers' fast-paced style of play (102.9 per game ranks second in the league) and work with an outstanding point guard like Haliburton, who has always been Siakam's first choice. Everything went so smoothly that Siakam decided to join the Pacers.
After this news came out, Warriors fans should be considered a more disappointed group. Just yesterday, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported that the Warriors were still in talks with the Raptors about a trade for Siakam. An opportunity to strengthen the interior was missed, and what are the Warriors doing with Wiggins, Dream Green, Paul and Kuminga? And the Warriors' total salary has reached $211 million, ranking first in the league, even if a few people are replaced and leave with salaries, but it is still a bit too high, which affects the ability to offer Siakam a maximum salary contract this summer, and Siakam will not stay even if he is exchanged.
The Warriors didn't trade Siakam, not to mention what Siakam could bring to the Warriors, but simply changed the environment, and the Warriors couldn't do it. With the current situation, even if they welcome back Dream Green, it will be difficult for the Warriors to move forward by half a step. Wiggins' decline is still unreasonable; Klay Thompson scored only 9 points against the Grizzlies after scoring 30 and 21 points in two consecutive games; and even with Curry, the shooting rate was below 40 percent in four consecutive games, which made people exclaim: Is Curry also old? He couldn't win against the Grizzlies, and the combined annual salary of the Grizzlies' five winning heroes was only $10 million, while Curry's annual salary alone was 51.92 million.
The Warriors are now in 12th place in the Western Conference, 1.5 wins away from the 10th Lakers in the West and 5.5 wins away from the 6th Pelicans in the Western Conference. Without a trade, the Warriors may not be able to make the playoffs this season. And just two seasons ago in 2022, the Warriors were the champions, and the speed of the decline was beyond the acceptance of fans. What the hell should a warrior do? (Mao Mao Dad/Push-ups)