Pascal Siakam Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Agent: Pascal Siakam Could Be Back Within Two Weeks

November 2nd, 2021 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Agent Todd Ramasar, who represents Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, told Justin Termine of NBA Today on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link) that Siakam is set to re-join his teammates on the court within two weeks.

Siakam tore his left labrum in May, and went under the knife to surgically repair the injured shoulder in June. The 27-year-old recently resumed practicing with the club, as well as with its G League affiliate, Raptors 905, as he continues to rehabilitate.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets that Siakam’s shoulder needs to be given the green light by his surgeon in Los Angeles. Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter) that Siakam’s timeline remains aligned with the Raptors’ original projection for his return following the surgery five months ago.

The 6’9″ forward was a crucial part of Toronto’s 2019 championship-winning team, and is hoping to bounce back following an underwhelming performance for the lottery-bound Raptors in 2020/21. After leading the Raptors to the second round of the NBA playoffs and being named to his first All-Star team in 2020, Siakam appeared to regress on both sides of the ball last season. Toronto finished with a 27-45 record while playing its home games in Tampa, and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2012/13 season.

Veteran team leader Kyle Lowry was shipped to the Heat in an offseason sign-and-trade. The Raptors selected exciting forward Scottie Barnes out of Florida State with the fourth pick in the 2021 draft. In seven games, Barnes is looking like a serious Rookie of the Year contender, averaging 18.1 PPG on 55.1% shooting from the field, along with 8.9 RPG. As a 6’9″ tweener forward, Barnes could be a long-term replacement for the veteran Siakam.

For now, it will be interesting to see how head coach Nick Nurse opts to juggle his starting lineup. He had been starting Barnes and ascendant 6’7″ swingman OG Anunoby at the forward positions, with 6’5″ Gary Trent Jr. starting at shooting guard. One of this triumvirate could head to the bench upon a Siakam return.

Injury Notes: Brown, Pacers, Raptors, Bucks

October 29th, 2021 at 9:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics All-Star wing Jaylen Brown is dealing with lingering after-effects from contracting COVID-19, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Brown says it’s taking his body much longer to recover than normal, which is part of the reason he’s had up-and-down performances thus far.

“Like, I feel great. And then it feels like instead of playing one game, it kind of feels like I played three. I’m used to my body responding and recovering a lot faster. I know I just turned 25, but this can’t be what it looks like on the other side,” Brown said Friday.

Head coach Ime Udoka recently said Brown’s inconsistency has been “mind-boggling,” according to Bontemps. Brown agreed, but he’s still not feeling right.

“Ime came and talked to me about it yesterday,” Brown said. “It didn’t bother me. It’s mind-boggling to me too. I was surprised that my body didn’t respond the way it normally responds. I’m usually able to have that zip, that pop, flying up and down the court, but it wasn’t there. I think that was obvious.

“I don’t think he was out of line or anything for that. I gotta be better and get with my medical staff and figure how to get my body to the point where I feel normal. Some days I feel fantastic and then it’s like two, three days, it takes my body too long to feel fantastic again. That’s an issue for me. As I navigate that, we have to still tighten up on the details, tighten up on our defense and find a way to win games. Even though I don’t feel the same on the court, I could still be better in certain areas and detailed in certain areas. That’s more the conversation that we have,” Brown said.

Brown is also suffering from patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, relays Bontemps, which is why he missed a game versus the Rockets on Sunday.

Here are some more injury notes from around the league:

We noted yesterday that Pacers rookie Isaiah Jackson suffered an injury on Wednesday and will be out “a while,” per head coach Rick Carlisle. The team provided an update today in press release, stating that Jackson has a hyperextended left knee and is considered week-to-week.
Caris LeVert missed the game tonight, but he’s close to returning for the Pacers, relays Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is progressing from his shoulder injury, but he’s still weeks away from returning, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Grange says the best-case scenario is Siakam might return in mid-November.
In a separate tweet, Grange says that Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe suffered a setback with his calf injury and was unable to practice today.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t expect Brook Lopez or Jrue Holiday to play this weekend, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (via Twitter). In a follow-up tweet, Nehm relays that Bobby Portis will miss tomorrow’s game as well (reconditioning).

Raptors Notes: VanVleet, Ujiri, Flynn, Injuries

October 26th, 2021 at 5:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet, one of just three holdovers from Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan era, is trying to lead a rebuilding Raptors squad much the same way DeRozan did alongside Kyle Lowry years ago, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

DeRozan paid his first visit to his old club as a Bull, proving that he remains an absolutely clutch scorer to close out games. The Bulls would go on to win, 111-108.

“This is a new dynamic,” DeRozan said of how VanVleet has evolved to become the Raptors’ leader. “The conversations I have with Fred now, (leading a rebuilding team) is a new dynamic in your career that you have to figure out. It’s tough. But every great player goes through it. There’s not too many guys that just have a polished career. It’s another obstacle you can learn from and build on and turn you into a much better player than you even knew you had in you.”

There’s more out of Toronto:

The current Raptors ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, has a convoluted structure, but it has ultimately enabled team president Masai Ujiri to run the organization as he sees fit, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. The various factions of the ownership group reportedly disagreed on the terms of Ujiri’s new contract, but that deal eventually got done earlier this year.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse explained the lack of playing time for guard Malachi Flynn, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). “There’s a Fred and there’s a Goran (Dragić) and we’ve given (rookie Dalano Banton) a run,” Nurse said. “And Dalano’s the one you should probably be asking me about. He’s played outstanding every minute he’s been out there. You guys should be all over me for not playing him more.” It sounds like it could be an uphill battle for Flynn to crack the club’s point guard rotation.
Injured Raptors forward Pascal Siakam was a full participant in the team’s practice today, and will join the club’s NBAGL affiliate, Raptors 905, to continue to work off the rust in their training camp, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (via Twitter). Siakam has missed the team’s first three games with a shoulder injury. Small forward Yuta Watanabe also practiced with Toronto today and is considered to be nearing a return for the team, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Grange adds that Siakam might be on track to rejoin Toronto earlier than the initially-anticipated target date of mid-to-late November.

Raptors Notes: Roster Battle, Siakam, Boucher, Anunoby

October 14th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The fight to make the Raptors‘ 15-man regular season squad has been one of the NBA’s more competitive preseason roster battles, with Sam Dekker, Ishmail Wainright, and Isaac Bonga vying to earn two spots (or just one, if Toronto opens the season with 14 players). Addressing the competition today, Dekker said he’ll be happy for Wainright and/or Bonga if they beat him out for a roster spot.

“These are guys I’ll stay in touch with for a long time no matter what and I’m always going to cheer for them, because it’s the weakness of a man to root for someone to fail,” Dekker said, adding that his current teammates are some of the “kindest human beings” he knows (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).

Wainright also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make his case for a regular season roster spot, regardless of what the Raptors decide.

“No matter how it goes, I’m not going to hang my head,” Wainright said (Twitter link via Lewenberg). “My family always told me when one door closes, another opens. I’m coming out of this a better man, a better basketball player, a better person, period… Whatever happens, I gave it my all from start to finish.”

All three players have had strong camps, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link). While many teams will set their rosters by Saturday, the Raptors could wait until Monday if they want, since Dekker, Wainright, and Bonga all have partial guarantees. That means their cap hits would remain unchanged if they don’t clear waivers until after the regular season begins, unlike a player on a non-guaranteed deal, who must be waived by Saturday for a team to avoid incurring a small cap charge.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday, head coach Nick Nurse said that Pascal Siakam (shoulder) is starting contact work this week and may only be a few weeks away from returning, while big man Chris Boucher (finger) is about 10 days away (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca).
With Siakam sidelined to start the season and Kyle Lowry no longer a Raptor, the team is grooming OG Anunoby to be a centerpiece of its offense, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He’s our number one option right now,” Fred VanVleet said of his teammate. “He’s been great, he’s been assertive finding his spots, I think me and him are finding a little bit of rhythm together, so it’s good to see.”
Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca takes a look at the battle between Goran Dragic and Gary Trent Jr. for the second starting spot in the backcourt alongside VanVleet, suggesting Dragic appears to have the upper hand.
John Hollinger of The Athletic didn’t love the terms of the Raptors’ free agent contracts with Trent and Khem Birch, but praised the team for getting Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk on a minimum-salary deal. Hollinger projects the team to finish with a 40-42 record, good for ninth in the East.

Raptors Notes: Dragic, Siakam, Vaccination Status

September 28th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Goran Dragic doesn’t know how long he’ll be with the Raptors, but he’s willing to accept whatever role the team wants him to play, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The veteran guard was acquired from the Heat this summer in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. There were rumors at the time that he might be shipped to Dallas, but that deal never materialized.

With a $19.5MM expiring contract, the 35-year-old point guard could become a valuable trade chip before the February deadline. A report this week said no deal involving Dragic appears imminent, and Toronto has little incentive to pursue a buyout before the deadline arrives.

Dragic used Monday’s media day to repeat an apology for comments he made to Slovenian reporters last month indicating that he didn’t want to be with the Raptors. He told Smith that his statement was taken out of context.

“You know, it came out wrong. I did apologize and I want to apologize right now, too,” Dragic said. “It was not my intention. But you know, the organization and the players, they welcomed (me). It was really nice; all the guys are nice. They want me, you know, to feel comfortable and I do feel comfortable here, for the past two weeks.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Pascal Siakam hasn’t been cleared for contact yet in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, but the Raptors are optimistic about his progress, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “He looks good,” said general manager Bobby Webster. “He’s in a really positive head space. I think he’s happy and ready to go.” Siakam has been working out on his own at the team’s practice facility, and coach Nick Nurse hopes he’ll be ready relatively early in the season (Twitter link). American Thanksgiving, which falls on November 25, could be a realistic target date, tweets Michael Grange of The Athletic.
Lowry’s departure leaves Siakam as the team leader for the first time in his career, notes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen suggests that Siakam may benefit from a month or so of not playing, which will give him a chance to study his teammates and see the best ways he can help. “We had a conversation with Masai (Ujiri), and it was me, it was OG (Anunoby) and it was Fred (VanVleet),” Siakam said. “Everyone else is gonna be young. … ‘We’re gonna go wherever you guys take us.’ I think that’s the focus. … I don’t like the word ‘the guy.’ I don’t like using it. I want to be the guy who wins. I want to win. I remember when we went to Vegas for dinner and I’m sitting there and I’m like, ‘Damn, I feel like I’m the oldest here.’ It was weird, a weird feeling I never had before. It’s gonna be a process, but I’m excited about it.”
Visiting players who haven’t been vaccinated will be able to receive a National Interest Exemption to play in Toronto, according to The Athletic. They must test negative after arriving in Canada and won’t be able to leave the team hotel, other than to go to Scotiabank Arena. Raptors players are almost fully vaccinated and the team expects to reach that status by opening night, according to Murphy (Twitter link).

Pascal Siakam Talks Trade Rumors, Shoulder Injury, More

September 16th, 2021 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

Pascal Siakam was the subject of some trade rumors earlier in the NBA offseason, but the Raptors reportedly assured the forward and his camp that they weren’t looking to move him, and Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar publicly stated that his client wasn’t looking to be moved.

Speaking to Sopan Deb of The New York Times, Siakam publicly weighed in on those trade rumors himself for the first time, suggesting that he envisions himself remaining in Toronto long-term. Siakam told Deb that he wasn’t irritated by the offseason rumors, since all the reports framed any trade discussions as teams pursuing him, rather than the Raptors shopping him.

“It didn’t bother me really, because I never really heard anything from the Raptors. Even all the news I was seeing it was never like: ‘Oh. The Raptors wanted to give up Siakam for this,'” he said. “It was always like, ‘The Warriors like Pascal,’ or it was always, ‘The Kings like Pascal,’ or this. There was never nothing where it was like, ‘The Raptors wanted to give away Pascal.'”

Siakam’s conversation with Deb touched on several other topics, including his rehab from shoulder surgery, his run-in with head coach Nick Nurse, and Kyle Lowry‘s departure from Miami. The Q&A is worth checking out in full, but here are some highlights:

On where he’s at in the rehab process:

“I’m shooting, ball handling. I think at this point in the process I look better than I thought I was expecting at least or I’m doing more than I thought I would do at that time.”

On his altercation with Nurse:

“I don’t think it was that bad… This is what happened: It was after a game. I’m just so frustrated. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re losing and I’m just mad I didn’t play and I could’ve really helped my team.’ And we’re having a losing season and I think those things happen between a coach and a player.

“Obviously, I probably used language, uh, people use. It is what it is, but I don’t think it was such a big deal because after that situation happened, we talked. We are on good terms. It was just an argument. Literally one argument and like: ‘Oh, I’m mad at this. I’m yelling and this is it.’ That’s it. Grown men.”

On becoming one of the Raptors’ centerpieces following Kawhi Leonard‘s departure in 2019:

“For me at that point when I started becoming that person, I just felt like there wasn’t that much level of communication (from the team), to be honest. And that was the only thing really that I felt. It was like, ‘We got you the max contract, but are you the guy?’ I think that’s something that I was struggling with.

“Kyle was, to me, always the greatest Raptor of all time. I think he was always like, ‘I was the guy.’ I had the contract, but I never really felt like I was the guy, to be honest. … And I think those conversations are happening now.”

On his expectations for himself in 2021/22:

“I feel like when the season was ending, I was catching a rhythm, finally feeling good. ‘Man, I just had Covid. Lost 20 pounds.’ These are things that I was going through, and I feel like I’ve always gotten better in my eyes. And I think there’s another level that I can definitely get to. And for me, I definitely see myself as an All-Star. Potentially, wanting to be a most valuable player in the league one day. But for me, I do think that there’s definitely a lot more to unleash into my dream that’s going to take me to the next level.”

Agent: Pascal Siakam Doesn’t Want To Be Traded

August 27th, 2021 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

Pascal Siakam has been the subject of trade rumors following the Raptors‘ disappointing season, but the fifth-year forward isn’t looking to be moved, agent Todd Ramasar said in an NBC Sports podcast.

“That’s the last thing on his mind,” Ramasar said. “… He loves it there. Yes. He won a championship. … That’s never come from us that there’s a change … Because of the pandemic, because the Raptors missed the playoffs, there’s been a lot of speculation around (about a trade), but it’s not because of Pascal or anything he’s said. Or even the organization. I think that’s just the chatter that picks up going into an offseason.”

Ramasar’s statement meshes with a report last week that Toronto isn’t trying to trade Siakam during this offseason. He’s under contract for $106MM over the next three seasons, so there’s no urgency to make a move, even if the team decides he’s not in its long-term future.

Several teams called this summer to see if Siakam is available, sources tell NBC Sports, and the Kings, Warriors and Clippers have been mentioned among those who expressed interest.

Siakam’s performance declined last season, which led to speculation that he might be on the trade market. Although he averaged 21.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in 56 games, those numbers were down slightly from the 2019/20 season and his efficiency dipped as well. The Raptors’ decision to draft Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 pick fueled rumors that Siakam might be headed elsewhere.

However, there were factors that contributed to Siakam’s decline. He was among several players who contracted COVID-19 midway through the year, and he suffered a shoulder injury late in the season that forced him to have surgery.

Siakam is currently rehabbing from that operation and Ramasar expects him to reach an All-Star level again. Also, his agent wants to remove any distractions that trade rumors might be causing.

“First of all, it’s about understanding when it is purely speculation as opposed to there being some substance to that, right? Is there traction to those rumors?” Ramasar said. “It starts with having good communication and a great relationship with the team and management, and communication. And it’s understanding that, because this is a business, at any point you can be traded… But in this situation, knowing that it was more so speculation than anything else, it’s having those conversations with the client. It’s also the team reassuring the player, in this case Pascal, and then you move forward and stay in control of the things you have control over.”

Latest On Pascal Siakam

August 16th, 2021 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite being the subject of several offseason trade rumors, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Amick, who reported earlier in the summer that the Kings were “definitely” interested in Siakam, spoke in Las Vegas with multiple people close to the situation and says he doesn’t get the sense that the Raptors have any interest in moving the former All-Star this offseason. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster have been willing to listen to inquiries, Amick notes, but they aren’t shopping Siakam.

Besides Sacramento, the Warriors and Clippers are among the other teams said to have Siakam on their radar. He remains under contract with the Raptors for $106MM over the next three years.

As Amick outlines, there were multiple reasons why executives around the NBA believed that Siakam might be available via trade this offseason. Toronto’s decision to use the No. 4 pick in the draft on forward Scottie Barnes instead of guard Jalen Suggs was one; Siakam’s friction with Raptors head coach Nick Nurse last season was another.

However, sources tell Amick that any tension between Siakam and Nurse has “long since been smoothed over” and that Ujiri and the Raptors have been in touch with the forward’s camp to make it clear the team has a vision for how he, Barnes, and the rest of the team’s pieces will fit together on the court. And for his part, Siakam wants to remain with the Raptors, Amick adds.

Siakam underwent shoulder surgery in June and isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the 2021/22 campaign, so Toronto may not get to see its full roster in action until at least a month or two into the season. If the fit isn’t as smooth as the Raptors envision, perhaps things will change on the Siakam front at that point, but for now it looks like he’s part of the club’s plans going forward.

Atlantic Notes: McBride, Brown, Siakam, Achiuwa

August 10th, 2021 at 8:04am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The contract that rookie point guard Miles McBride signed with the Knicks covers three years, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video link). Marks reports that the first two seasons in the deal are guaranteed, while the third is a team option. The team used cap room to complete the signing.

McBride, 20, was selected with the No. 36 pick out of West Virginia. The 6’2″ guard was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team for the 2020/21 season, his sophomore year. During his final collegiate season, McBridge averaged 15.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.9 RPG, on a .431/.414/.813 shooting line.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Do-everything Nets guard Bruce Brown drew outside interest as a free agent but said that he always knew he wanted to remain in Brooklyn, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). Brown, 24, opted to accept a one-year, $4.7MM qualifying offer from the Nets, and will be an unrestricted free agent next season. “I really didn’t pay it any mind, honestly,” Brown said of the decision to remain in Brooklyn, per Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com. “I thought everything would take care of itself. I really was just working out the whole time, and then when free agency started, I actually was on the plane back to New York. So I didn’t really talk to anybody until I landed. I’m just happy to be back. It’s a great fit. I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
Appearing on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster downplayed ongoing rumblings about a potential impending Pascal Siakam trade. “Teams call on our players and we call on other teams’ players,” Webster said, per Steven Loung of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
New Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa, acquired as part of the sign-and-trade that sent point guard Kyle Lowry to the Heat, is excited to contribute however he can to a winning culture with Toronto, writes Neil Davidson of The Toronto Star. “Rebounding,” Achiuwa said, explaining what he brings to the team. “Guarding multiple positions. Creating offense for my teammates with screens, pick-and-rolls. Passing the ball. Just whatever it takes to win basketball games. Getting loose balls… For me, it’s all about winning.” During his rookie season in Miami, Achiuwa averaged 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 12.1 MPG after being selected 20th overall in the 2020 draft.

Kings, Warriors, Clippers Eyeing Pascal Siakam

August 9th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings, Warriors, and Clippers are among the teams believed to be especially “enamored” with forward Pascal Siakam, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells Anderson that Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has received numerous trade inquiries on Siakam and is “listening like a good negotiator.” However, while a deal is possible, Anderson’s source doesn’t believe it’s likely, noting that Siakam has no desire to be moved.

Siakam’s name has popped up in trade rumors throughout the offeason. John Hollinger of The Athletic first suggested in June that the former All-Star was on Golden State’s radar, and multiple subsequent reports referenced a leaguewide belief that Siakam could be had, particularly in the wake of Toronto using the No. 4 pick to draft Scottie Barnes.

Sam Amick of The Athletic said last week that Sacramento “definitely” has interest in Siakam, and Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated that the Trail Blazers engaged in some preliminary discussions involving the veteran forward.

If the Kings were to make an offer for Siakam, it would likely include Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III, and at least one future first-round pick, per Anderson. While that would be a perfect salary match, it’s not clear if such a package would be enough to seriously entice Toronto, Anderson acknowledges.

Siakam is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and will likely miss a little time at the start of the 2021/22 season.

The Kings have also displayed interest in Sixers star Ben Simmons, Anderson confirms, adding that GM Monte McNair seems motivated to make a major roster move as the pressure to win begins to build. Outside Sacramento, there’s a sense that McNair and his front office – installed just a year ago – are already “feeling the heat” from Kings owner Vivek Ranadive to take a significant step forward, says Anderson.