OCTOBER 21: The Raptors’ four-year, maximum-salary extension with Siakam is now official, the team announced today in a press release.
“Pascal has been relentless in everything he has achieved,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said in a statement. “He has embraced our development philosophies from Day One, he’s one of us and a unique talent. He has improved himself every season without cutting any corners. He is a testament to hard work paying off and we’re thrilled that he will continue his career here in Toronto.”
As we relayed on Sunday, the starting salary on Siakam’s extension can reportedly increase to up to 30% of the cap rather than 25% if he earns a spot on the All-NBA First Team or Second Team – or wins the MVP award – in 2020.
OCTOBER 19: The Raptors have reached an agreement with forward Pascal Siakam on a four-year contract extension that will be worth the maximum salary, agents Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani have informed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link). The deal doesn’t feature any team or player options, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Siakam, the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player, took a huge step forward in his third NBA season, averaging 16.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .549/.369/.785 shooting in 80 games (31.9 MPG). The 25-year-old also showed the ability to guard all five positions and played an important role as the Raptors made a Finals run and earned the first championship in franchise history.
With Kawhi Leonard no longer on the Raptors’ roster, Siakam is poised to take on an even greater role in 2019/20 and beyond. The organization views him as the future “face of the franchise,” tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
Siakam is the third player eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason to receive a maximum-salary deal, joining Ben Simmons (Sixers) and Jamal Murray (Nuggets). Simmons and Murray each received five-year extensions, while Siakam got four years — his new deal will lock him up through the 2023/24 season.
[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
Siakam’s exact salaries on his extension will depend on where exactly the NBA’s salary cap lands for the 2020/21 season. Based on the league’s most recent projections, his deal would start at $29MM and would be worth a total of $129.92MM. He’ll earn $2.35MM in 2019/20, the final year of his rookie contract.
With a $30.5MM extension for Kyle Lowry also recently added to the books for 2020/21, the Raptors no longer project to be among the teams with the most cap room next summer. Still, the club could have some flexibility below the cap, with Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, and Fred VanVleet all on expiring contracts this season.
Now that Siakam’s deal is done, Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Buddy Hield (Kings), and Domantas Sabonis (Pacers) are among the most notable young players still eligible for rookie scale extensions before Monday’s deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
waste
Woof!
Is there anybody left in the NBA who isn’t going to get a max?
Wow! Is a very strong bet for a player that has done it only for 1 year, I would have wanted to see how he performs this year, can’t say he is at the level of Simmons or Murray.
Siakim has shown more consistency then Murray from game to game and Simmons was almost unplayable at times in the playoffs. All 3 are very young though and are onna good trajectory.
I Compare Siakam to Andrei Kirilenko AK-47, with a similar start, but did “just okay” contribution-wise.
That said, the signing cannot be called a mistake.
I’ll never forget when I saw him trying to pick up cougars at a summer league game ahhhh memories
This is great. Get it, Spicy P!
Not sure what the rush was. You gave him what you would have been able to give him next summer as an RFA. Why not see if last year was the jumping off point to stardom, or if it’s his ceiling and is a quality, but not Max player.
RFA can lead to complications. For example if he signs the QO, you only get him one more year. If he signs an offer sheet, you can only match and are therefore bound by that agreement. There is also a deadline to get these types of deals done and then you can’t negotiate any more. It’s a risk for sure, but there’s risks the other way as well.