Pacers add Siakam in deal with Raptors
Pascal Siakam is being traded to the Indiana Pacers, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday, ending a run of nearly eight years with the Toronto Raptors during which he was a twotime All-NBA selection, twotime All-Star and part of the team that won the 2019 NBA title.
Siakam is going to Indiana in exchange for three future firstround draft picks and a pair of players with NBA championship rings — guard Bruce Brown and forward Jordan Nwora — said the person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade was still pending league approval.
ESPN, which first reported the full terms of the trade, also said the New Orleans Pelicans were involved and would send Kira Lewis to Toronto as part of the deal. That move would put the Pelicans in position to get below the luxury tax threshold.
It is a huge move for Indiana, the NBA’s highest-scoring team this season. The Pacers entered Wednesday as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and soon will get to pair Siakam alongside All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton — who is currently out with a hamstring issue.
Siakam is in the final year of his contract, one that pays him nearly $38 million this season, and becomes eligible this summer to sign a five-year deal that could be worth as much as $247 million. The Pacers are expected to at least consider giving Siakam such a deal.
Siakam is averaging 22.2 points this season, and in his eight years with the Raptors he averaged 17.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. He was an All-Star in 2020 and 2023 and was the last starter from Toronto’s title team still with the franchise.
Brown will be joining his fifth different team once he arrives in Toronto, following stints with Detroit, Brooklyn, Denver and the Pacers. He was averaging a career-best 12.1 points this season, his sixth in the NBA.
Nwora averaged 5.2 points with the Pacers this season. Lewis appeared in 118 games — all in a reserve role — over parts of four seasons with the Pelicans and was averaging 2.9 points this season.