NEWSLETTER
The Indiana Pacers have officially locked in their trade deadline acquisition.
Pascal Siakam will reportedly sign a four-year, $189.5 million deal to remain in Indianapolis, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report. All indications were that the Pacers’ organization would act quickly to keep the versatile forward in-house, and they’ve done exactly that by offering him a max contract.
Siakam averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists during his 41 regular season games with the Pacers this year. He averaged nearly identical marks in the postseason, as well as a 54.1 percent clip from the field. Without the veteran and former champion, the Pacers likely aren’t coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Also, for those who may be confused by the timing of this report, a change to the NBA’s CBA allows organizations to negotiate with their own free agents the day after the NBA Finals. Previous rules stated that they would have to wait until the official start of free agency (in this case June 30th). With that in mind, don’t be surprised if more of these reports continue to sprinkle out over the next few days.
The Chicago Bulls have two big names we’ll have to keep an eye on.
Pascal Siakam Gets Paid
The Pacers acquired Siakam from the Toronto Raptors on January 17 for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks. Add in the hefty payday, and there is no question Indiana has mortgaged a quite a lot on the future pairing of Siakam and budding guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Nevertheless, the franchise isn’t known for landing high-caliber free agents. Being aggressive over the trade market and nailing the NBA draft is the best way for a small-market team to climb up the league ranks, and the Pacers have done both excellently. Players like Haliburton, Siakam, Toppin, and Aaron Nesmith have all been added via trade in the past couple of seasons. Meanwhile, this front office has drafted role players Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson.
The expectations are now set high in Indiana for the first time in a while. The organization has tied a lot of money and assets into the Haliburton-Siakam duo, and the plan will be for them to remain near the top of the East for years to come.
All things considered, that sure is bad news for the Chicago Bulls! Indiana already leapfrogged them last season, and there are no signs of them falling back down to the totem pole any time soon.
