NBA Trades: 10 Pascal Siakam deals the Raptors must consider

NBA Trades #2: Los Angeles Clippers

With the Los Angeles Clippers seemingly out of the running for James Harden, they could set their sights on Siakam. While the Clippers have one of the largest payrolls in the NBA, they have plenty of expiring contracts needed to get a deal with the Raptors done.

Moving on from Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, and Nic Batum would allow them to match salaries and clear a major hurdle to get a trade completed. The other hurdle would be draft assets, which the Clippers are short on, but they can trade both their 2028 and 2030 first-round picks (top-eight and top-10 protected).

All things considered, that would be a surprisingly competitive offer from the Clippers since Toronto wouldn’t have to take back any long-term salary and could very well receive two lottery picks in this proposed deal. For the Clippers, adding Siakam would put them back on top of the West, assuming that their other stars can stay semi-healthy.

A starting lineup of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Siakam, and Ivica Zubac would have plenty of offensive firepower as well as three switchable defenders. On paper, this trade is certainly a possibility. But the thought of re-signing Siakam to a max contract and seeing their already sky-high luxury tax bill shoot up might give the Clippers pause.