The Toronto Raptors have already found themselves in the mists of trade rumors.
Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby are going to be names to monitor as trade season officially begins on Dec. 15.
The Atlanta Hawks are one team that is connected to Siakam.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Hawks were close to landing Siakam this past summer:
“Atlanta felt like they were close and that they had a good, a pretty good package for Pascal Siakam. There [were] some pretty intense conversations back and forth with a deal centered around De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and draft compensation and the deal did not get done so we will see as we get closer over the next several months.”
Shams again going on a show (@OverDrive1050) recently where he discussed how close Atlanta and Toronto were on a Pascal Siakam deal this past summer
(h/t @REGGIES_WORLD) pic.twitter.com/vqR1Q8oyhB
— Grant Shirley (@Grant_Shirley4) December 8, 2023
Masai Ujiri and the Raptors ultimately didn’t pull the trigger. However, with the Hawks struggling and looking to win now they could try and revisit those conversations with Toronto.
If the Raptors are indeed looking to rebuild, they will likely shop Siakam to try to get a big haul in return. Siakam is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024 so the Raptors wouldn’t want to potentially lose him for nothing.
Siakam had a great performance against his potential future team. He had a team-high 33 points and made 5-6 threes as the Raptors beat the Hawks 135-128 to snap their four-game losing streak.
As trade season marches along, there is certainly going to be more teams interested in Siakam as well.
Other teams reportedly interested in Siakam
Per Shams, the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings are also potential suitors for Siakam. The Pacers and Kings are looking to take the next step and trading for Siakam would make a lot of sense for both teams.
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