NBA analyst believes Toronto Raptors will be blowing it up if they trade Pascal Siakam
Pascal Siakam finds himself on the trade radar as the Toronto Raptors near a dismal stage of being in "blowup territory."
Siakam has been one of the best players for the Raptors this season. This prompted The Athletic's Eric Koreen to write about how important someone like "Spicy P" is to Toronto's scheme.
While acknowledging that several trade rumors presented the team as a target, Koreen highlighted what "blowing it up" would look like.
He emphasized this by referring to the importance of Pascal Siakam in the Toronto Raptors' squad. Painting him as the bright spark on the fading Raptors unit, The Athletic journalist wrote:
"If they trade Pascal Siakam, they will be blowing it up. Anything shy of that falls shy of that definition, too.
"Trading Fred VanVleet, a first-time All-Star last year who is shooting poorly this season and will likely hit free agency at age 29 in the summer? Not blowing it up.
"Trading O.G. Anunoby, a tremendous defensive player with solid utility as a tertiary scorer, to add some draft picks and/or increased depth? Not blowing it up."
He went on to add:
"Trading Siakam, a two-time All-NBA player who is playing some of his best basketball ever? Yep, that qualifies. Without him, the premise of the Raptors evaporates.
"For the struggling Raptors, Siakam is basically the whole damn thing, the last guy separating them from generally competitive and a train wreck."
The Raptors haven't been the most effective team this season. While the team features some talented pieces in OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet and a rising star in Scottie Barnes, they have struggled to get going.
Their most recent result was a heartbreaking 104-101 OT loss against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. The Raptors now find themselves 13-18 on the season. As games continue to slip out of their hands, the front office may have an important decision on their hands.
In light of Toronto's poor form, the team has become a rather intriguing target as a trading partner. The prospect of rebuilding and/or tanking seems to be looming over the Raptors. However, there are some considerations to be made as to how this is to be approached.
Pascal Siakam is the type of player you move mountains to trade for, so you better be sure all other paths are leading nowhere before you trade him away: theathletic.com/4019929/2022/1…
Prime among these considerations is likely to keep Pascal Siakam on the roster. Given his accomplishments on both ends of the floor this season, it is evident that "Spicy P" is practically holding the Raptors together.
Toronto going into full "tank" mode could see them contend for a chance to land French phenom Victor Wembanyama next year. However, a warning sign of such a move, as per Koreen, would only come if and when the Raptors decide to move Pascal Siakam.
Read: NBA Rumors: Rival executives monitoring Toronto Raptors' situation if they continue to be .500
Should the Toronto Raptors consider trading Pascal Siakam?
The Toronto Raptors are far from being in a favorable position at this point in the season. They are currently 10th in the East and are yet to find any consistency despite being a Play-In contender.
Poor offensive and defensive form have combined to result in a rather harrowing string of losses for Toronto. With another heartbreaking loss in OT against Philadelphia, the Raptors extended their losing streak to six.
Them boys put in work tonight, we back at it on Wednesday https://t.co/Xz8vu6kMTm
Read: Toronto Raptors' losing skid extends to 6 games - Fred VanVleet, Nick Nurse blame poor defense
The prospect of trading and blowing things up is likely to emerge as a valid option at this point. Fred VanVleet has been rather underwhelming, Scottie Barnes hasn't taken the next step as of yet and OG Anunoby remains consistent but lacks star quality.
In this regard, Pascal Siakam is the only bright spark on the roster. Trading Siakam could bring a lot of value back to Toronto for the future, but could also send the franchise into a spiral for a season or two.
The prospect of building around Scottie Barnes does have potential. However, patience and dedication to that pursuit will be a test the Raptors will have to be willing to undertake.