Tag: pascal siakam

Raptors trade Pascal Siakam to Pacers

The Toronto Raptors have acquired guard-forward Bruce Brown, guard Kira Lewis Jr., forward Jordan Nwora and three first round draft picks in a trade with the Indiana Pacers for forward Pascal Siakam.

In a corresponding move, the Raptors have also waived centre Christian Koloko.

“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. 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,” Raptors Vice-Chairman and President Masai Ujiri said. “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.”

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Pascal to Indiana,” said Pacers 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.”

Siakam will wear number 43 for the Pacers.

Brown, 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, is averaging a career-high 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 29.7 minutes in 33 games (all starts) this season. He is shooting .475 (149-314) from the field, .327 (33-101) from three-point range and .817 (67-82) at the free throw line. Brown has scored in double figures 22 times, including a season-best 30 points Dec. 2 at Miami. He recorded his lone double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds at Denver on Jan. 14.

Now in his sixth season, Brown is averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 25.0 minutes in 382 career games (245 starts) with Detroit, Brooklyn, Denver and Indiana. The Boston native was picked in the second round (42nd overall) by the Pistons in the 2018 NBA Draft following two collegiate seasons at Miami.

Nwora, 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, is averaging 5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 10.2 minutes in 18 contests this season. He is shooting .451 (37-82) from the floor and scored a season-high 19 points Nov. 19 against Orlando.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Nwora was picked in the second round (45th overall) by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 16.5 minutes in 172 games (29 starts) with Milwaukee and Indiana. Prior to the NBA, Nwora played three seasons at Louisville (2017-20) where he was a First Team All-ACC selection as a junior.

Lewis, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, was acquired earlier Wednesday by the Pacers from the New Orleans Pelicans. He is averaging 2.9 points, 1.2 assists and 9.6 minutes in 15 games this season. Lewis owns career averages of 5.4 points, 1.8 assists and 13.8 minutes in 118 career appearances with the Pelicans. A native of Meridianville, Alabama, Lewis played two collegiate seasons at Alabama (2018-20) prior to being picked 13th overall by New Orleans in the 2020 NBA Draft. As a sophomore, he earned All-SEC First Team honours with the Crimson Tide.

Siakam was picked 27th overall by the Raptors in the 2016 NBA Draft. He averaged 17.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 31.0 minutes in 510 games (416 starts) in eight seasons with Toronto. Siakam was named to the All-NBA Team in 2019-20 (Second Team) and 2021-22 (Third Team), earned All-Star honours twice (2020, 2023), and became the first player in team history to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player (2018-19).

Siakam helped the Raptors capture their first NBA championship in 2019, and departs Toronto ranked third on the franchise’s all-time rebounds list (3,324), and fifth in scoring (8,875), assists (1846) and games played (510).

Koloko averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 13.8 minutes in 58 games as a rookie with the Raptors last season after being picked 33rd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox and Pascal Siakam added to 2023 NBA All-Star Game as injury replacements

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam have been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City (TNT/ESPN Radio).

The three players will replace Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left superior tib/fib sprain), Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (strained right hamstring).

In addition, Curry, Durant and Williamson will be replaced as starters in the NBA All-Star Game by three players who were previously selected as All-Star reserves: Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.

This is the first NBA All-Star selection for both Edwards and Fox and the second for Siakam.

Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is posting career highs in points (24.7 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg), assists (4.6 apg), steals (1.66 spg), field goal percentage (46.4%) and three-point field goal percentage (36.7%) in his third NBA season. He leads the NBA in total steals (96) and minutes (2,099).

Fox is averaging 24.2 points, 6.3 assists and a career-high 4.3 rebounds while shooting a career-high 50.4% from the field in his sixth NBA season. He leads the NBA with 128 points in clutch situations, which occur when the scoring margin of a game is within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.

Siakam is an NBA All-Star for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when he became the first NBA G League alum to start an NBA All-Star Game. A seven-year NBA veteran from Cameroon, he is averaging a career-high 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and a career-high 6.2 assists in an NBA-high 37.5 minutes this season.

When an All-Star starter is unable to participate in the NBA All-Star Game before the NBA All-Star Draft takes place, he is replaced in the starter pool for the Draft by the All-Star reserve from the same conference and of the same position group who had the highest weighted ranking in the voting for All-Star starters. The starter replacements are Embiid for Durant (who was in the Eastern Conference frontcourt group at the time of the voting), Markkanen for Williamson and Morant for Curry.

Embiid, Markkanen and Morant will be selected with the starters and Edwards, Fox and Siakam will be selected with the reserves in the NBA All-Star Draft, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena right before the NBA All-Star Game. TNT will air the NBA All-Star Draft live during its pregame show and then present the 72nd NBA All-Star Game, a matchup between Team LeBron and Team Giannis.

On what moves the Raptors could look to make

Here’s the Toronto Sun with speculation on what moves the Raptors might explore down the road:

But if we had to guess which way the Raptors’ front office is leaning right now based on their history and past preference, it would lean towards the smaller more time-sensitive moves now, followed by the bigger ones in the off-season.

Fitting the time-sensitive definition would be something like a Gary Trent Jr. trade. Trent Jr. can move on from the Raptors this summer for nothing in return. And if you’re reading the tea leaves, or in this case C.J. McCollum’s take that the Raptors will do something, Trent Jr. moving would seem to be the most likely bet…

The big dominos that could fall — everyone from Fred VanVleet to O.G. Anunoby’s names have been mentioned in one form or another — again based on Raptors front office history, if they are moved it’s much more likely they will be moved in the summer.

The Raptors are 20-26 this season, which is the 11th best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are Pascal Siakam at 25.1 PPG, Fred VanVleet at 18.9 PPG, Gary Trent Jr. at 18.5 PPG, O.G. Anunoby at 17.5 PPG, and Scottie Barnes at 15.7 PPG.

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam out with adductor muscle strain

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been diagnosed with a strain of the right adductor muscle.

Siakam will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and his condition will be updated as appropriate.

Siakam is averaging team highs of 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists in nine games this season. He is shooting .479 (80-167) from the field and has six double-doubles, including two triple-doubles.

Raptors racking up losses in a tough season

The Raptors aren’t having the best of seasons, to put it mildly. Via the Toronto Sun:

Things are dire in Raptor-land. It’s going to take a miracle for them to get back into the middle of the conference and there have been no signs one is coming. They’re going to have to be excellent to even get to seventh or eight in the East (which would mean they’d only have to win one play-in game to qualify for the playoffs, instead of the 9-10 teams, which will have to win two). Long-term there’s no question it would be more beneficial to nab a Top-10 pick, preferably a Top-5 prospect in what’s believed to be a pretty good. And the veterans are battered and exhausted and could benefit from a lower-stress finish/rest down the stretch (although it’s hard to see Kyle Lowry agreeing to a shut-down or an ease-down, since he is reportedly trying to land a new two-year contract for significant money and needs to prove he is still elite and durable at 35. Fred VanVleet is third in minutes-per-game, and 13th in overall minutes despite missing some games while in the protocols. His foot scare against Detroit had to have sent shockwaves through the organization and maybe have them questioning what they’re doing here and how much sense it makes.

The Raptors are just 18-29 this season, which is the 11th best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2020-21 are Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakim each at 20.1 points per game, Kyle Lowry at 17.0 ppg, OG Anunoby at 14.7 ppg, and Chris Boucher off the bench at 13.4 ppg

They recently traded Norman Powell, who was the team’s third leading scorer at 19.6 ppg, for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.

Toronto Raptors start new NBA season 0-3

The Toronto Raptors are off to an 0-3 start. Which isn’t a huge deal, because three games don’t tell a full tale of what’s to come in an entire season. But there are some issues to watch. Here’s the Toronto Sun on star forward Pascal Siakam:

Siakam has had a weird start. He’s looked far more energetic and locked-in and appears to be having more fun than he did in the bubble, but he’s also been a bit error-prone, has been mad at the officiating and has completely faded the later into games he gets. Is it fatigue? Frustration? This wasn’t the Siakam we saw to start the 2019-20 campaign. That Siakam was a Top 10 MVP candidate after the first month or so…

Siakam is -39 in the second half of the first three games, +6 in the first two quarters, has not gotten to the free throw line once in the first or fourth quarter of any game and committed five fouls in the final seven minutes of Tuesday’s loss.

He also hasn’t been the all-world defender he has been the past few seasons (torched by Brandon Ingram, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons).

Through three games, Kyle Lowry is averaging 19.3 points and 9.7 assists. Siakam is second in scoring at 18.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 4.7 APG, but he’s shooting just 39.3% FG. Guard Fred VanVleet’s shot has also been missing: he’s putting up 14.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 6.0 APG but on just 36.4% FG.

Again, it’s too early to care much about exact numbers. But for now, the Raptors aren’t hot out of the gates.

Toronto’s next game is tomorrow on the road against the Knicks.

Raptors begin season with three-point misses in loss to Pelicans

The NBA season began Tuesday, and on a busy league-wide Wednesday schedule the Raptors began their season with a 113-99 loss to the Pelicans. In the win, Brandon Ingram shined, putting up 24 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists and three steals, JJ Redick scored 23 off the bench while new addition Eric Bledsoe had 18 points and six assists. In the loss for the Raptors, Pascal Siakam had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Kyle Lowry had 18 points and 10 assists. Via the Toronto Star:

Even in the three pretend games that preceded Wednesday night’s season-opening loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Raptors were settling for too many three-pointers and not getting to the basket — and the foul line — on a nearly equitable basis.

They hoisted 46 threes on Wednesday, making just 14; they took only 43 traditional two-point field-goal attempts, converting 24.

“We are just trying to go out there and play within the offence,” Raptors centre Aron Baynes said after the 113-99 defeat. “We are not looking just for threes, but we have set shots we are trying to get, and if the guys are open we have full confidence they are going to knock it down.”

That makes entire sense because the Raptors have shooters capable of much higher than a 30.4 per cent clip. Fred VanVleet going 2-for-8 from three, Norm Powell 1-for-6, OG Anunoby missing all five shots he took from behind the arc — that’s atypical shooting from that trio.

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2019-20 All-NBA teams announced

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James have been unanimously selected to the 2019-20 All-NBA First Team.

James has set the NBA record with his 16th All-NBA Team selection, which includes a record 13 selections to the First Team, two to the Second Team and one to the Third Team. He passed 15-time All-NBA Team selections Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan.

Antetokounmpo, the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and James both received All-NBA First Team votes on all 100 ballots to finish with 500 points each. Named to the All-NBA Team for the fourth time, Antetokounmpo has earned his second First Team honor.

The 2019-20 All-NBA First Team also features Houston Rockets guard James Harden (474 points; 89 First Team votes), Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis (455 points; 79 First Team votes) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić (416 points; 59 First Team votes).

Harden and Davis have been voted to the All-NBA First Team for the sixth and fourth time, respectively. Dončić is making his All-NBA Team debut in his second season. He is the first player selected to the All-NBA First Team in either his first or second season since Duncan in 1998-99. Dončić, 21, also becomes the sixth player named to the All-NBA First Team at age 21 or younger, joining Kevin Durant (2009-10), James (2005-06), Duncan (1997-98), Rick Barry (1965-66) and Max Zaslofsky (1946-47).

The 2019-20 All-NBA Second Team consists of LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (372 points), Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (311), Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (284), Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (199) and Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (168).

The 2019-20 All-NBA Third Team is composed of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (153 points), Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (147), Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (110), Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (61) and Rockets guard Russell Westbrook (56).

Siakam, Tatum and Simmons join Dončić as first-time selections to the All-NBA Team. Paul and Westbrook have been voted to the All-NBA Team for the ninth time each. Lillard and Leonard have earned their fifth and fourth All-NBA Team selections, respectively. This marks the third All-NBA Team honor for both Butler and Gobert and the second for Jokić.

The All-NBA Team was selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Players were awarded five points for each vote to the All-NBA First Team, three points for each vote to the Second Team and one point for each vote to the Third Team. Voters selected two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position where they play regularly. Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position where they received the most votes.

The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11. The seeding games, which were played July 30 – Aug. 14 as part of the 2019-20 season restart, did not count toward voting for the All-NBA Team or the league’s other traditional end-of-season awards.

Raptors hit with injuries to Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell

The Toronto Raptors just got hit with a series of injuries:

Marc Gasol sustained a strained left hamstring in the first quarter of play Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Detroit. He was reevaluated on Thursday and it was determined he will be out indefinitely.

With 6:47 to play in the fourth quarter, Pascal Siakam sustained a stretched groin after an awkward landing. He was evaluated Thursday and will be listed as out indefinitely.

Norman Powell left the same game with 3:17 to play in the fourth quarter after a collision with another player. After testing in Toronto on Thursday, it was determined he had sustained a subluxation of the left shoulder. He will also be out indefinitely.

Per the Toronto Star, “every time it has appeared Toronto was about to get healthy this season, another player or two has gone down. First it was Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka. Then it was VanVleet. This latest setback could be the most difficult one to overcome yet as it takes away the Raptors’ leading scorer in Siakam, the recently surging Powell and Gasol, who has been a lockdown defender in the post.”

All three players will be reevaluated in the coming weeks.