Latest Update on Raptors Extension Talks with Pascal Siakam Emerge

Pascal Siakam continues to remain in limbo.

His status with the Toronto Raptors remains one of the most perplexing aspects of this season. It was understandable to some extent that Toronto wanted to see how the former All-NBA forward would look in a new offense. Sure, there was a cost to being patient, not locking him up to a long-term deal over the summer meant Siakam would be heading into unrestricted free agency next offseason, but the front office said it needed more time to evaluate.

At the 30-game mark of the season, Toronto’s situation is becoming clearer. The Raptors have by no means been successful this year, but Siakam’s numbers are almost identical to his stats in any of the last four seasons when adjusting for his minutes played, and it by no means appears as though he’s the problem for the Raptors.

Yet, as Sportsnet’s Michael Grange reported, the Raptors have no plans to offer Siakam an extension right now and with the end of December nearing, his future with the organization is only becoming more complicated.

There’d been reason to think Siakam could ink a deal before the end of the month to allow Toronto to trade the franchise icon next offseason. If Siakam were to sign a deal before Dec. 30, he’d be ineligible to be traded for six months, but the trade restrictions would expire just in time for the summer.

It wouldn’t be a perfect situation and probably not the best way to treat a player of Siakam’s caliber, but maybe Toronto could get more for Siakam with multiple years left on his contract. For interested teams, Siakam under contract at least gives teams cost certainty and alleviates the concerns that he may just leave in free agency.

“No one is going to pay top dollar for a half-season of work from a player who could leave in free agency,” Grange wrote.

But the lack of extension talks these days suggests Toronto is comfortable heading into the Feb. 8 trade deadline with Siakam on an expiring contract. It’s a scary place to be considering OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr., three-fifths of this team’s starting lineup, are also on expiring deals. But this isn’t going to be news to the Raptors.

There’s a plan. There has to be.

Toronto put itself in this position when the season started by not locking up its soon-to-be free agents. The organization had to know those players would be less valuable at the trade deadline it was, after all, just last season that Fred VanVleet's trade market was surprisingly underwhelming as he neared the end of his contract with Toronto.

Will the plan work?

That's a question that will only be answered in the coming months. But if the past few years have been any indication, it's fair to be a little skeptical.