The Pacers finally have a starting caliber power forward. Pritchard & Co., always aggressive in the trade market, have pulled off a deal to bring two-time All-NBA selection Pascal Siakam to Indianapolis.

The fit of Siakam on the Pacers is undeniable. He's an efficient scorer who can create his own look and draw fouls, he runs in transition, and he's an alert and willing passer. In fact, I don't think I quite realized how good of a passer he is until I took a look at his stats. For the past few years, he's assisted on over 20% of his teammates' makes while he's on the floor. That puts him in the top 10% for forwards and bigs.

Three point shooting isn't his forte, but he's serviceable – especially from the corners. I fear that he may have to make the same adjustments Mathurin is having to make in our fast paced, unselfish offense. Siakam had a lot of freedom in Toronto to dominate possessions (look at those assist percentage numbers). Under Carlisle he won't be able to pound the ball quite as much but he should get easier looks overall. Also, one-on-one scoring isn't a skill the Pacers have in spades, so it's nice to have that in our back pocket come playoff time.

But why are we talking about offense? The Pacers already do that just fine. The aspect that makes this trade such an improvement for the Pacers, obviously, is what Siakam brings defensively. At just under 6'10 with a 7'3 wingspan and fluid feet, he's got the length and athleticism to defend the league's best forwards. We've seen a lot Nesmith, Nembhard, and Brown playing solid defense but failing to stop an opponent due to a height disadvantage. Hopefully with Siakam in tow, that will mostly be a thing of the past.

Trade Details

So what did Siakam cost the Pacers?

Bruce Brown

It's a shame to see Bruce go. He is a solid player and a great locker room personality. I would love to have him back at some point in the future but it seemed fairly obvious that his skillset was a bit of a redundancy with the amount of guards on the roster (and Nembhard specifically).

It does give me a slight tickle that Pritchard was able to parlay Brown's inflated contract, which he only received as a way for the Pacers to meet the salary floor, into a salary match for an All-NBA caliber player at a position of need.

Jordan Nwora

Nwora, much like Brown, is a solid player and a great presence in the locker room. However he simply didn't have a place in our rotation. Losing him doesn't effect lineups and is a rather painless price to pay. I hope he gets more opportunity in Toronto. We all know he can get buckets when he gets playing time.

Three First Round Picks

The first round picks are the meat of this trade from the Pacers' side. We'll send out both of our picks in this summer's draft. Currently those picks are sitting at #18 and #27. The protection for our own pick is only 1-3, so if we slip out of the playoffs – something that seems unlikely but in the competitive Eastern Conference is still very plausible – Toronto could end up getting a lottery pick from us right away.

We'll also send out our own pick in 2026. All in all, it's a fair price to pay for someone as good as Siakam. As we know all too well, first round picks can be hit or miss. However, rookie contracts are the best way to field a competitive team with multiple players on max deals, a reality the Pacers will have to deal with starting next season. I have no problem trading the picks but Pritchard will need to continue to find ways to add contributors through the draft as payroll balloons.

Risk

The deal is fair – in fact a little cheap – for someone like Pascal Siakam. The reason we were able to keep Walker, Mathurin, Nembhard, and Nesmith is because Pascal will be a free agent in a matter of months. If the Pacers don't resign him, they will have made a serious error. You have to imagine that Siakam indicated a willingness to stay in Indy beyond the season for the Pacers to feel comfortable pulling the trigger. That certainly seems to be what's being reported as of now.

For those unfamiliar with Bird Rights, they are a salary cap exception that allows a team to resign its own players without using cap room. It's the mechanism GSW and other teams use to create such massive payrolls. It also allows the Pacers to offer Siakam a free agent contract with better raises and an extra year compared to any other team.

Other Details

In order to dot the I's and cross the T's, the Pacers and Raptors folded the New Orleans Pelicans into the trade. Technically, the Pelicans traded Kira Lewis, Jr. to Indy who then traded him to Toronto. That move required the Pacers to cut James Johnson, who the Pacers hope to resign once he clears waivers.

The Pacers also received a 2nd round pick from New Orleans (which Indy is keeping) in exchange for cash considerations. The pick will be the worst of Chicago and New Orleans' 2nd rounders.

Soooo, what do y'all think?

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