Analyst Believes Hawks Should Have Traded For Pascal Siakam in the Offseason

Atlanta had talks of trading for the Raptors star

This offseason, one of the most rampant trade rumors involved the Hawks trying to pry All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam away from Toronto. In August, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this:

"Atlanta has offered a package centered around De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin and draft compensation to Toronto for Siakam, league sources say. But the Raptors are believed to have upped the price on any possible deal at each turn."

Of course, the Hawks did not make any such trade. The only real move they made this offseason was a salary-saving move of trading John Collins to the Utah Jazz. 

Bleacher NBA analyst Zach Buckley believes that might have been a mistake. 

Should the Hawks have traded for Pascal Siakam? / © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

When talking about moves that each NBA team wishes they could have made, he talked about the Hawks and trading for Siakam: 

"The Hawks were historically mediocre last season and fittingly open to an offseason shakeup. They even discussed a Siakam deal with the Raptors only to balk at Toronto's request for Bufkin, per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

Atlanta has entrusted Bufkin with all of four minutes over two games since. While the Hawks clearly value his future, they shifted their priorities firmly to the present the second they paid a premium to pair Dejounte Murray with Trae Young. They've needed a third star ever since, so the idea of letting Bufkin block that pursuit is questionable at best.

Give Atlanta a mulligan, and it could travel back to pick up both Siakam and Porter. Siakam would give this roster its third star, and while his arrival may have blocked the ascension of Jalen Johnson, this trade would've cleared the runway for Onyeka Okongwu to take flight. A frontcourt rotation featuring all four of these players would've given Atlanta more offensive firepower and more flexibility on defense.

It would have been a risk, sure, with Siakam unsigned beyond this season and reportedly unwilling to extend with any team but Toronto, per Marc Stein. But would it have been any riskier then spending another year of this backcourt's prime on the treadmill of mediocrity? The Hawks have been as mid as mid can get, splitting their first 14 contests and sitting a perfectly average 15th in net rating. The Raptors, meanwhile, would have actually picked a direction for their organization and brightened their future at the expense of what's already a pretty underwhelming present.

If Toronto embraced a roster reset around Scottie Barnes, it would have as much time as needed to help Bufkin, this year's No. 15 pick, find his NBA footing. He could play through his mistakes and learn when, where and how to apply his two-way versatility. Toronto could've started forming a young nucleus with those two and No. 13 pick Gradey Dick (and, if it wanted to re-sign him, OG Anunoby) and used the incoming draft assets to supplement it.

Capela wouldn't have stayed with the Raptors long, but a win-now shopper in need of a center could have sent some draft considerations north of the border to get him. Toronto also could've shopped Hunter—6'8" three-and-D wings will always have a market—or held onto the 25-year-old if it envisioned a quick turnaround." 

Will the Toronto Raptors trade Pascal Siakam? / © John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

I think the Hawks have been a better team than their record suggests, but I still don't think their roster as currently constructed could make a deep run in the playoffs. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is currently 23rd in points per 100 possessions allowed and 25th in effective field goal percentage allowed. That is not going to be good enough to get it done in the playoffs against elite teams. 

The big question would be if Siakam would re-sign with the Hawks. If he would not, that would make any trade impossible. Hunter and Capela provide value to this team still and while he is not playing right now and might not play much this season, Bufkin has talent and there is no need to give up on him for a one-year rental. 

There has been speculation about Atlanta needing a third star for this team. 

The NBA season is only a month old, but some teams might be ready to start talking about ways that they can shake up their teams. While the Hawks have not gotten off to a super stellar start, there is still plenty of time to start showing improvement.

So what could a potential trade for Siakam look like? Here is a mock trade that Buckley had for both teams:

Atlanta Hawks receive: Pascal Siakam and Otto Porter Jr.

Toronto Raptors receive: De'Andre Hunter, Clint Capela, Kobe Bufkin, a 2024 first-round pick (lottery protected, via SAC), a 2027 second-round pick (via LAC), and a 2028 second-round pick (via HOU)

However, if the trade deadline were today, what might the Hawks do? Bleacher Reports Greg Swartz asked this very question and for Atlanta, he said they should be focused on finding a third star to pair with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

Do the Hawks need to make a trade? / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sport

 Here is what Swartz had to say:

"Following a season in which they went 41-41 overall, the Hawks have begun the 2023-24 campaign a perfectly even 6-6 as well.

There's enough of a sample size here to know Atlanta should once again fall into the play-in tournament in the East, as a roster of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, and some high-quality role players can only carry the Hawks so far.

If there was ever a team in need of a third star, this is it.

Even after trading for Murray, the Hawks can still part with multiple first-round picks (either their own or a 2024 selection via the Sacramento Kings plus one in 2029 or 2030) and have some intriguing young talent to offer as well.

This could be a potential home for a player like Karl-Anthony Towns, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby or Jerami Grant at the deadline"

These are intriguing names, but I think a couple of them might not help the Hawks as much. Jerami Grant is a good player but I would not consider him a star and I don't think adding him would change the Hawks's outlook much if at all. KAT is a great talent on the offensive end, but his defensive issues might not mesh well with the Hawks, who are already a defensively challenged team.

The trade deadline is still a few months away, but be sure to keep an eye out for any moves the Hawks might need to make. 

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