The Latest Smoke Surrounding Sixers Rival Pascal Siakam

Just two seasons ago, the Philadelphia 76ers battled it out against Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. While Toronto took the fourth-seeded Sixers to a Game 6, Philadelphia made it out victorious and advanced to the next round.

The Raptors didn’t return to the playoffs the following year. While they made a late-season push and competed in the league’s Play-In Tournament, the Raptors fell short. Not long after missing the playoffs, Philly’s rival franchise made several significant changes.

Toronto moved on from Nick Nurse, replacing the head coach with Darko Rajaković. Nurse, who helped the Raptors achieve their first NBA title in franchise history, signed on to become the newest head coach of the 76ers, replacing Doc Rivers.

With the Raptors headed towards a potential re-tooling phase and the Sixers remaining in a position to possibly capitalize on their championship window next season, many have assumed that the Sixers would have eyes for some of Nurse’s former standouts.

Veteran guard Fred VanVleet was the most notable player to keep an eye on from a Sixers’ standpoint. With VanVleet facing a potential sign-and-trade or a trip to the open market by declining his player option, the relationship between VanVleet and Nurse was strong enough to consider a possible reunion out in the City of Brotherly Love.

VanVleet went the route of putting himself on the free agency market, but the Sixers weren’t on his mind. Instead, the former Raptors All-Star signed with the Houston Rockets, landing a max contract to play for one of the league’s rebuilding franchises.

Now, all eyes are on Siakam in Toronto as the veteran forward’s future is in question. Recently, The Athletic’s Shams Charania addressed the state of Siakam’s future with the team that drafted him 27th overall back in 2016.

Going into the final year of his contract, Siakam is extension eligible and could land himself a brand new max deal. So far, Siakam and the Raptors haven’t had any discussions surrounding an extension, which raises some eyebrows.

Typically, when a notable player enters the final season of their contract without an extension looming, teams look to gain value for their services before losing them to the free agency market for nothing. That could very well end up being the case for Siakam, but Charania reports that the star forward has not requested a trade, and trade talks have been paused for the time being.

The situation becomes even more difficult for interested suitors considering Siakam is reportedly unwilling to sign an extension with a team that would trade for him at this time. Without knowing whether Siakam would be just a one-year rental or a long-term contributor, teams would be hesitant to give up a crucial package. And per Charania’s report, the Raptors have a rising asking price for one of the league’s most popular trade chips.

Would the Sixers Inquire?

Siakam’s relationship with Nick Nurse has been questioned by outsiders looking in. It’s unclear whether they are on good terms or not. Regardless of their player-coach relationship from the Toronto days, it’s difficult to imagine the Sixers are going to be in the market for Siakam — especially with the return of Paul Reed, who is expecting to adopt a Siakam-like role in Philadelphia.

There hasn’t been any smoke surrounding a Siakam-to-Philly scenario, but another Eastern Conference team has been making a push for the veteran’s services. According to Charania, the Atlanta Hawks are the “strongest suitor” for Siakam.

While trade discussions between the two parties have simmered down, the Hawks reportedly offered a package centered around De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and draft picks. Toronto hasn’t been convinced that’s enough right now.

The Siakam era in Toronto could conclude soon, but it seems the Raptors aren’t willing to hit the reset button just yet. Perhaps, the Raptors could enter the 2023-2024 NBA season with Siakam to learn more about where they’re currently at. Therefore, Siakam could stick around up North closer to the trade deadline unless there are drastic changes from now until then.