Haynes: Pascal Siakam Wants to Stay with Raptors; May Not Sign New Contract If Traded
Pascal Siakam is entering the final season of his contract, but he reportedly doesn't want to leave the Toronto Raptors.
According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, there is "growing sentiment" around the league that the forward wants to remain with Toronto so much that he would not sign a long-term deal with a team that traded for him if the Raptors decided to go a different direction.
Rumors surrounding Siakam are nothing new.
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He was one of a number of Raptors players who were under the spotlight at the trade deadline, but Toronto decided to keep him and others. The strategy didn't exactly work out as planned, as the team ended up losing to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.
Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported Thursday that the Atlanta Hawks were interested in Siakam but noted "opposing front offices still believe the Raptors' high valuation of their players, such as Siakam and OG Anunoby, marks the biggest roadblock to any potential trade."
That Siakam wants to stay in Toronto isn't a surprise.
After all, he told reporters in April he wanted to stay in the city long-term. "It's a part of who I am as a person," he said. "This feels like home."
The Raptors selected him with a first-round pick in 2016, and he more than lived up to expectations as a 2019 champion, two-time All-Star and go-to scorer for the franchise. He averaged a career-best 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from deep this past season.
From Toronto's perspective, Siakam's desire to stay may decrease the motivation to trade him even more. After all, one reason to trade a player entering the final year of his contract is to avoid a situation where he leaves for nothing the following offseason, but it seems as if he will be interested in re-signing in such a scenario.
So interested, in fact, that he reportedly might not sign with another team that trades for him ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
