Grade the Trade: Mavs land 3&D center in 3-team mock trade with Pacers, Raptors

Grade the trade for the Raptors

For the Toronto Raptors, trading Pascal Siakam would signal a new era of basketball for the franchise, as they would be giving up on their star player and placing the organization on Scottie Barnes’ shoulders.

Incoming: Andrew Nembhard, Buddy Hield, Jalen Smith, 2025 First-round pick (via IND), 2027 First-round pick (Top-10 Protected via IND)

Outgoing: Pascal Siakam

While trading Siakam might be a scary thought for Raptors fans, now that Fred VanVleet has moved on, there may never be a better time for them to enter a rebuild.

Trading Siakam would allow them to stockpile a bunch of assets while turning to Barnes, Gradey Dick, and whatever young pieces they get in a trade to lead them into the future.

That being said, this isn’t really a trade that should interest them.

Andrew Nembhard is a great young player, but he seems more like a guy who could be an elite backup or a solid starter. Not the centerpiece of a trade for a two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward.

The same can be said about Jalen Smith, who has shown some potential while in Indiana but isn’t quite good enough to be a top piece in this sort of trade.

If this is the path the Raptors choose to follow, they would have no real need for Buddy Hield. They could flip him in a separate deal, but at that point, he’s just salary filler in this trade.

Two firsts are fine, but overall, if the Raptors decide to trade Siakam, they should aim to get a larger return than this.

Potential starting lineup: Andrew Nembhard, Gary Trent Jr., Gradey Dick, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl

Grade: D+