The Toronto Raptors are doing what it takes to remain a powerhouse team in the Eastern Conference, even in the wake of Kawhi Leonard leaving in the offseason. First, they signed Kyle Lowry to a contract extension on October 7th.
Now, they drop the big one on all of us. Indeed, Pascal Siakam has signed a max-extension with the Raptors. This report is from Adrian Wojnarowski on twitter. Therefore, it’s as good as gold.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has agreed to a four-year, max contract extension, agents @TRamasar and @choufani_lsme tells Zach Lowe and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 19, 2019
While you might not think Siakam fits the typical mold of a max extension player, there are a few things to consider. Notably, Siakam won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award last season. Thi was after putting up 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists a game. He also is adept at shooting three pointers, hitting 36.9 percent from that range last season.
What this all means; is he’s a rare and dynamic talent that can hurt you in a lot of ways. If you watched the playoffs last season as Toronto ran through the field for their first world title, you heard his name called a lot. Moreover, that was Siakam’s coming out party.
The 2016 first-round pick (27th overall) was on fire in the playoffs, averaging 19.0 points and 7.1 boards per game.
Here is a breakdown of what Siakam will make over the next several years.
Here is the Pascal Siakam max extension based on a $116M cap in 2020-21:
20/21- $29M
21/22- $31.32M
22/23- $33.64M
23/24- $35.96M
Total of $129.9M
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 19, 2019
Finally, maybe the Raptors won’t be able to make a run without a major star player like Leonard. However, you have to admire their prowess to keep most of the core that won a championship together. In an East where they may feel enough parody exists to get back to the NBA Finals again, anything can happen at that point.
Plus, Siakam may be about to become a household name.
