Mock Trade: Thunder Acquire Toronto’s Pascal Siakam
With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Oklahoma City Thunder are always a contender to be involved in trade talks with general manager Sam Presti at the helm.
Oklahoma City is in a precarious situation, more than likely right in the middle of their rebuild. But there could be certain win-now players available that Presti won’t want to pass on.
With an abundance of forwards, Toronto could be looking to ship off former All-Star Pascal Siakam.
The Raptors recently took a chance on Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. To say that pick was a success is an understatement, as Barnes is averaging 14.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his debut season.
Barnes has a more than a realistic shot at taking home the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
While Barnes and Siakam have done a decent job of coexisting thus far, giving Barnes a bulk of the minutes moving forward won’t be a bad thing.
The primary question when trying to get this deal done is what Toronto would want in return for Siakam.
Toronto has an odd mix of both fresh and close to veteran players, and their timeline is a bit murky. They could be looking to acquire win-now assets, or move off their more senior players in order to build around its younger core.
OKC can offer a mix of both, with a few veteran role players or any amount of picks that Toronto would require. Derrick Favors would do well in Siam’s stead, while the draft selections could give Toronto more players near the same timeline as Barnes.
Siakam would give Oklahoma City some much star-power at the power forward position, and give star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a more realistic fit for the future.
While acquiring Siakam might seem like a weird move for Presti, the forward was rumored to be in a potential deal for OKC's Russell Westbrook and Paul George before the infamous Clippers deal.
Oklahoma City’s offer: Derrick Favors, Mike Muscala, 2024 Thunder FRP, 2022 Suns FRP for Pascal Siakam
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