The Toronto Raptors made headlines on Wednesday afternoon when they decided to trade Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in a multi-team deal that also involved the New Orleans Pelicans. In exchange for Siakam, the Raptors were able to net three first-round picks, two of which are in 2024, and they added versatile swingman Bruce Brown Jr. Jordan Nwora and former first-round pick Kira Lewis Jr. were also dealt to Toronto as part of this trade for Siakam.
A new era is now set to begin for the Raptors, one that doesn't include any of their core players from the 2019 championship roster. Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett are now the young faces of the franchise after the Raptors traded away Siakam, a decision that was tough to make.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri spoke to reporters on Thursday about what went into the Siakam trade, outlining the All-Star's journey and the relationship the two shared.
President of the Raptors Masai Ujiri was emotional talking about Pascal Siakam after he was traded to the Pacers 🥹🙌
(via @TSN_Sports)pic.twitter.com/IhRicw7xSJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 18, 2024
“Two African guys that won a championship. I share that with him,” Ujiri stated with an emotional tone, via TSN Sports. “Again, I say to you guys, that guy's success is my success no matter where he is.”
Siakam was drafted by the Raptors in 2016, just a few years after Ujiri became the general manager of the team. After building a consistent playoff-caliber team with Siakam over the course of multiple years, Ujiri was able to turn Toronto into a real championship threat in the Eastern Conference. They finally broke through in 2019 and won their first and only championship in team history, dethroning the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors.
Ujiri believed in Siakam to be the All-NBA talent he's become, and these two have always shared a close bond because of their upbringings. The decision to move on from the All-Star was obviously a difficult choice to make, and Ujiri made a public apology to Siakam during his press conference for the line of communication between him and the organization on a possible contract extension being minimal in the offseason.
Time will now tell what moves Ujiri has up his sleeve to once again build the Raptors into a contending force in the East, a position they have been all too familiar with over the last decade. The Raptors now have a lot of flexibility in terms of making more moves ahead of the trade deadline in February.
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