Pascal Siakam has been in the center of trade talks all offseason. After the Raptors lost Fred VanVleet in free agency to the Houston Rockets, many believed the Raptors would try and shop Siakam to enter a full rebuild.
When the Siakam trade rumors were at its peak, the Atlanta Hawks were interested in the two-time All-Star.
According to The Atheltics’ Shams Charania, the Raptors rejected a deal from the Hawks for Siakam. The Hawks offered De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and draft compensation.
Now, new details about the trade have emerged. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Sotto, there’s a player the Hawks didn’t want to include in the deal that’s worth noting should both teams revisit trade discussions at a later time:
“The Hawks were unwilling to part with rookie guard Kobe Bufkin in trade talks for Siakam. Coach Quin Snyder is said to be high on the former Michigan guard, who averaged 19.3 points on 51.9 percent shooting overall and 45 percent from beyond the arc with 5.6 rebounds in his final eight games as a Wolverine.”
What’s interesting is that Kobe Bufkin was a player who the Raptors considered taking with the No. 13 pick in the NBA draft before ultimately selecting Gradey Dick.
With the 2023-24 NBA season fast approaching, trade talks involving Pascal Siakam have gone quiet of late. The Raptors don’t appear to be in a rush to make a decision on Siakam’s future.
The Raptors haven’t extended Siakam yet, so he would become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.
The Siakam situation is something worth monitoring throughout the season.
Siakam gets ready for 2023-24 season
Siakam will enter his eight season with the Raptors. He averaged a team-high 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game last season. He was the Raptors best player and lone bright spot during a disappointing year.
Siakam will have his sights set on making the All-NBA this season because if he does, Siakam would be eligible for a contract worth $307 million over five seasons.
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