Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
If the Toronto Raptors are open to making some big changes this offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers should absolutely keep tabs on them over the next few weeks. And perhaps there’s one player on their roster that would be worth the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. And that player is Pascal Siakam.
I have a hard time imagining that the Raptors would trade Siakam but if they had the option of having the No. 3 overall pick or Siakam, that could make for an interesting conversation in the front office. Especially if they end up losing a couple of their other key players – perhaps a Fred VanVleet or Gary Trent Jr. via free agency or OG Anunoby via trade.
For the Blazers, having a player with Siakam’s skill set in the frontcourt next to Damian Lillard is a dynamic that they simply haven’t had. You can make a case for the Lillard-LaMarcus Aldridge seasons but Siakam is much more talented than him at this point in his career.
The big question is whether a duo of Lillard and Siakam would be good enough to be considered a contender in the West. And that’s the big gamble with trading the No. 3 overall pick for any player.