The Raptors have traded star forward Pascal Siakam to the Pacers for Bruce Brown, Kira Lewis, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks, and a top-four protected 2026 first-rounder, Indiana announced in a press release.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Pascal to Indiana,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “As a two-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA All Star, Pascal is a player that our organization has long admired and respected. We feel that his unique offensive skillset will complement our style of play, while his defensive versatility will be a valuable asset to our team.”
The Raptors also announced the trade is complete in their own press release.
“Pascal is a champion, an integral part of winning teams and an example of what can be achieved with dedication, perseverance, hard work and tenacity,” said Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri. “We’re lucky to have seen Pascal develop into the man and player that he is today – and we are grateful for everything he has done for our city and for our franchise. We wish him all good things.
“This is a time of change for our team, and we welcome Bruce, Jordan and Kira to the Raptors and to Toronto. Bruce is a world champion, and we look forward to his two-way play and added toughness on the court. We continue the work of getting better every day, and continue moving forward in our quest to win here in Toronto.”
The Raptors needed to release a player to complete the deal, and that roster casualty was second-year center Christian Koloko, who has yet to play this season due to a respiratory issue. Assuming he clears waivers, Toronto will be on the hook for Koloko’s full 2023/24 salary, which comes in at $1,719,864. His salary for next season was non-guaranteed.
As a rookie last season, Koloko showed promise as a rim protector, averaging 3.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 58 games, including 19 starts (13.8 MPG).
According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), the Raptors are still “very high” on Koloko, but since there’s no timeline for his return to action, he was the odd man out. Murphy wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto signs Koloko to a G League contract or re-signs him to an NBA deal in the future.
Echoing that last point, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca believes there’s “a good chance” Koloko will remain with the Raptors in some capacity (Twitter link). Grange also hears Koloko has been ramping up his activity lately, but it’s unknown when the Cameroonian big man will be cleared to play again.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, all four players involved in the deal can be traded again prior to the February 8 deadline but cannot be aggregated with other salaries. The Raptors also created a $10.2MM traded player exception in the deal, per Marks (Twitter link).
The Raptors now have a full 15-man roster, while the Pacers have 13 players on standard deals. Teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than 14 days at a time, so Indiana will have two weeks to re-add a 14th man.
For more details on the blockbuster trade, check out our story from earlier in the day, before it became official.
Bruce should have stayed with the champs
Why? He wanted to get paid. Which he did. He wasn’t getting close to that number from Denver. Can’t blame him it was his first bigger payday.
Got paid more, but now he’s entering full rebuild mode territory with the raps. Guess can’t have it all…
I mean cmon lmao he’s going to get traded again in the next month
Yea exactly, flipping 3 teams in one month. Would have had lot more fun chasing another ring, no?
No he’s done that. How many opportunities you get to get paid. He’s a FA. He’ll be looking for a contract. Teams know he’s a player.
I think getting a contract that sets me and my family for life so we dont have to worry about anything, especially in case he gets hurt and cant play anymore (knock on wood), is way more valuable than chasing a championship. He can dk that later, he is still young. This money is once in a lifetime, he is never getting a contract like this ever again.
But as far as rebuilds go, the Raptors one should be better than most. Doubt they will be truly bottoming out with the amount of raw talent they already have on the roster.
He isnt allstar level player.1 ring is enough for him.that was his chance to get more money and he did good decision.dont blame him.
Congrats Pacers team and fans. You’ve just gotten class, hard work, MIP, all star and Champion. I would be very very excited.
Pacers fans will love Pascal. He’s a great guy. As a raptors fan and basketball fan, I’m hyped to see how he’ll work with Hali. He can take over games, but that spin move and meh 3 pt shot will have you saying wtf at times.
Pacers definitely upgraded. Now we will see if they do damage this yr. They are deep and young. Should be fun …..
Sixers missed out on this. Good trade for the Pacers.
Siakam doesn’t fit what the Sixers need. He isn’t even a league average 3pt shooter. And hes a sub 80% FT shooter. If I had to put all my eggs in 1 basket, it would be to get Markkanen who is a much better fit or Murray + Bogdan in the same deal.
I like Siakam, but the bad shot selection in TOR was not just FVV.
I hope bulls get koloko.he is still very raw but i see he can be a decent backup c.decent defensive center
Interesting trade for bothe teams…
Both come out getting what they wanted… Indy got better at the 4 in many ways they needed and the Raptors got younger with potential players…
Bruce Brown for Wendal Carter Jr and Gary Harris, Bruce for Okongwu & Capella, Bruce for Jaylin Williams (who comes off the bench for OKC) with Bertans?
I like the WCJ trade. We need a back up C/PF
I don’t think the Magic do the first one. Brown isn’t the most consistent shooter, and while Harris is having a down year in that regard, he’s still a veteran shooter. And they already have Cole Anthony as their sixth man, so they don’t have a clean fit for Brown anyway. It’s a fair deal, for sure, I just don’t think they pull the trigger.
Williams and Bertans is a fair deal, but even if Williams is better than I think he is (he *really* struggles to score at the rim in general, but especially relative to his size), I don’t think it’s quite enough for the Raptors. The Thunder really could use a guy like Bruce to keep them in line. They might be willing to give up a bit more for that. Pity Brown can’t be traded alongside other players due to the trade rules.
Atlanta isn’t happening. The quality is about right, but they need to retool completely, and a rental like Brown isn’t the right fit there. And Okongwu isn’t moving unless they get a stellar deal.
To bad Denver couldn’t trade for Brown. Toronto would have to waive Nwora, Temple, Young and Porter Jr. Denver trades Zeke Nanji, Strawther, Cancer, Holiday, Pickett, Tyson and two 1st for Brown. I know it won’t work.
I think Brown will be move again for the right offer. Denver may try to get him back. Toronto looked good without Pascal last night.
Who does Denver have that raps would want? They not giving up their starters.
It would almost have to be a 3-team trade, tbh. The Nuggets would have to trade almost the whole of their bench just to make it work financially.
I think Nuggets trading for Caruso is more realistic than Brown. They could go all-in with Zeke, Watson, Strawther, and Cancar for Caruso and Torrey Craig…