NBA Reporter Suggests 2 Raptors Trades for OG Anunoby & Pascal Siakam

The Toronto Raptors might be able to move OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam in these deals with the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks

The so-called start of ‘NBA Trade Season’ hasn’t arrived quite yet but hypothetical trade season is well underway in the basketball world blogosphere.

On Friday, the vast majority of players who signed new contracts this past summer will become eligible to be traded. It’s unlikely any deals happen immediately but it’s usually the start of when trade conversations really begin to intensify ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

In the meantime, though, there’s no shortage of fake trades to discuss. The latest Toronto Raptors-related hypothetical deals come courtesy of The Ringer.

OG Anunoby and Otto Porter Jr. to the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield, Jarace Walker, and two unprotected first-round picks

The Pacers have long been connected to Anunoby and if Indiana is genuinely trying to make a big splash this season as has been reported, adding Anunoby would help. The Pacers have the third-worst defense in the NBA and swapping out Hield for Anunoby would certainly lead to a tangible step forward defensively for Indiana.

Indiana reportedly offered as many as three first-round picks for Anunoby last year and two unprotected first-round picks plus Walker, the No. 8 pick in this past year’s draft, is virtually the same. Hield doesn’t do much for Toronto in the long run considering he’s on an expiring contract but he’d add some valuable three-point shooting for the Raptors and could potentially be flipped for another asset.

If Toronto isn’t 100 percent confident Anunoby will re-sign with the organization in the summer, the Raptors would be wise to take a deal like this should the Pacers really put it on the table.

Pascal Siakam to the Hawks for De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic

Serbian Raptors coach Darko Rajaković would certainly be happy to see his fellow countryman Bogdanović join the Raptors. Bogdanović is a high-end three-point shooter and the kind of player Toronto could use off the bench. He has three years left on his contract and would give the Raptors some cost certainty moving forward, but at 31 years old, he’s likely not the player Toronto is looking to surround Scottie Barnes with.

Hunter fits a little better considering he’s just 26 years old, but he hasn’t exactly taken a step forward this year and he’s in the first year of a four-year, $90 million contract. If the Raptors are seriously considering trading Siakam, they’d probably want something a little more than this Hawks deal.