Report: Raptors Not Shopping Siakam to Teams like Clippers, Kings, Warriors
Despite recent reports that multiple teams, including the LA Clippers, have made calls about Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, The Athletic’s Sam Amick says the All-Star isn’t likely to be going anywhere.
In a recent article, Amick says that while President and Vice Chairman Masai Ujiri is listening to calls (coming from the Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson), Siakim himself has yet to put pressure on the organization to deal him. Additionally, Ujiri reportedly confirmed to Siakam’s representation that he’s not actively seeking out trade partners.
“Sources say Ujiri has recently made it clear to Siakam’s side that he’s not being shopped,” Amick wrote, “and that there’s a clear basketball vision here for how these pieces — old and new — can work.”
Siakam currently has three years and $106 million remaining on his current contract. Even if Ujiri and the Raptors were to change their mind and begin shopping Siakam, the Clippers have very little to offer in terms of young talent, draft picks and matching salary. While newly acquired Clipper Eric Bledsoe only has $3.9 million guaranteed for the final year of his contract (2022-23), a package of, say, Bledsoe, Terance Mann and Luke Kennard probably couldn’t compete with a package involving James Weisman and Golden State’s two 2021 draft picks (now in the form of Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody) in addition to Andrew Wiggins’ contract.
The Bledsoe contract could be useful for another trade down the road, as other teams can view it largely as a $14 million expiring contract. If another star becomes available at some point during the upcoming season, LA could be a suitable destination.
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