Toronto’s best player wasn’t there at Summer League. How long will he be in Toronto?
The Raptors have a new coach and a new point guard after Nick Nurse departed to lead the 76ers and Fred VanVleet signed a huge deal in Houston. While a number of Toronto players showed up to support lottery pick Gradey Dick on Friday night, Pascal Siakam was not one of them.
Siakam is in the final year of the contract extension he signed in 2019, a few months after Toronto won its first NBA title. Toronto can give the 29-year-old Siakam an extension worth up to $192 million for four years, but so far there’s been no progress on that.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported that it’s “reasonable to guess” that Siakam’s absence is due to the contract uncertainty and the trade rumors about him. There’s been speculation about Siakam being dealt to Orlando, Atlanta and Indiana so far, and perhaps he didn’t want to be in the stands cheering on Toronto only to learn he was traded.
Siakam averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists last season, falling just short of the All-NBA Team. He’s 29, but he only started playing basketball at age 17, meaning he has fewer miles on his body than the normal 29-year-old.
Toronto’s future direction is unclear. The Raptors let VanVleet go but signed center Jakob Poeltl to a long-term deal. Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby could all become free agents next year if they don’t sign extensions this summer, but for a team that built a practice facility inside the swanky Wynn Hotel and casino, the absence of many Raptors from Summer League games only Chris Boucher showed up for Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. game — is discouraging.
It’s also understandable. Toronto hasn’t indicated what its future plans are, but it’s looking like those plans don’t include Siakam.
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