Pascal Siakam's agent: I could see Pascal in Indiana long-term

“When you look at their coaching staff, same thing. They have a Hall of Fame coach in Rick Carlisle. He’s a championship coach with a well-prepared staff. You see that from where they’re sitting in the Eastern Conference right now. Then when you look at their roster, they have a young, budding superstar in [Tyrese] Haliburton who is not only this lethal scorer, but he is facilitating and making the right plays. He’s a point guard’s point guard in terms of making his teammates better. Pascal being added there adds a dynamic that they didn’t have before, which is someone to relieve pressure off of Tyrese and relieve pressure on Pascal. Both guys, in late-game situations, could go get a bucket without having to run a lot of offense. Both players are extremely unselfish and pass-first type of players. They make the right play instead of the selfish play. The fact that Pascal is a champion like Rick Carlisle is, he will bring that experience on a talented young team. When you look at somebody like Myles Turner, who is a stretch five and rim-protecting big, being paired with Pascal will be deadly with providing Pascal with spacing, which he otherwise didn’t have in Toronto.” -via SportsKeeda / January 18, 2024

What does Pascal Siakam think of the trade? Ramasar: “He’s excited. There are a lot of memories up in Toronto, and a lot of good memories. Although things have changed to where he’s been moved, he’s ecstatic about the opportunity ahead of him in Indiana. First of all, it’s a first-class organization. When you look at [President] Kevin Pritchard and [general manager] Chad Buchanan, these are basketball guys with an organization that always has had basketball executives from Larry Bird to Donnie Walsh that have been there. Their front office is first class.” -via SportsKeeda / January 18, 2024

But as was the case with the Pacers front office and the coaching staff, Siakam is also well aware that a deal like this doesn’t go down unless the organization’s most important player, that being Haliburton, is giving a hearty thumbs-up. League sources say that was certainly what happened here, with the Pacers granting the 23-year-old the kind of voice and influence in this trade that has become the league-wide norm for any player who is on a max deal (and, it’s worth remembering, that former Pacers star Paul George has said wasn’t granted to him before he decided to push his way out of town). -via The Athletic / January 18, 2024