Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) goes to the basket as Utah Jazz's Kelly Olynyk, left, and Walker Kessler (24) watch during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Jan. 12, in Salt Lake City.Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press
Masai Ujiri welled up and took a long silent pause when asked what he will remember most about time shared with Pascal Siakam, the all-star he traded away this week after eight seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
“Two African guys that won a championship,” said Ujiri, the Nigerian-born Raptors president, wiping his eyes as he reflecting on the Cameroonian native – the last rotational player from Toronto’s 2019 title-winning team to leave the franchise.
Ujiri was emotional while meeting the media Thursday for the first time in months, a day after completing a deal to send Siakam, 29, to the Indiana Pacers.
Ujiri said the human side of the basketball business sometimes hits him hard – in this case trading a player he first saw as a skinny teenager at a Basketball Without Borders camp – his other standout memory of Siakam. The team had drafted him 27th overall in 2016, then developed him. Siakam grew from a G-League youngster to part of Toronto’s plucky Bench Mob, then a league most-improved player. Siakam had only been playing the sport for seven years when he became an NBA champ with the Raptors. Toronto came to know him as Spicy P, and he became an all-NBA selection, and twice an all-star.
“That guy’s success is my success, no matter where he is,” Ujiri said.
Raptors star Pascal Siakam has accomplished his dream and his father’s dream
Ujiri needs to be cold and ruthless when it comes to big decisions, but he admits many still get him in the heart, like this one. He recalled how past decisions felt – his agonizing steps across the team’s practice facility to the offices of coaches Dwayne Casey and Nick Nurse to fire them, and his hours of pacing while summoning the courage to call DeMar DeRozan and tell him Toronto was trading him.
Ujiri says it was a bit easier with Siakam because they had a good chat in Los Angeles last week that prepared them both.
Reports had suggested the Raptors had not communicated well with Siakam’s circle last summer, as rumours swirled about the player’s future with the only NBA team he’d ever played for. Ujiri admitted that communication could have been better at that time, and said he has since apologized to Siakam for that. He said Siakam faced all that noise and distraction “perfectly.”
“You get big-time tested, there is nothing that stopped him from coming to work every day, trying to be the best he can, to be the best teammate,” Ujiri said. “We truly respect that.”
Ujiri doesn’t address the media very often, but when he does, it’s purposeful. This time, he came to discuss the four Raptors he traded away in a whirlwind few weeks – Siakam, OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn – turning a page to rebuild around third-year star Scottie Barnes. Ujiri also wanted to warn fans – this is going to take patience.
“I don’t know if I should call this a rebuild or a reset, but a normal rebuild with other teams takes five, six years. Do we have the patience for that?” Ujiri said. “Do we have the patience for three to five years of building? Some way, somehow we’re going to [need] to have patience.”
Ujiri said he’s excited about the jump Barnes has taken, and about acquiring other promising players via these trades – Immanuel Quickley and hometown player RJ Barrett from the New York Knicks.
But is Barnes – just 22 – ready to be the cornerstone of the franchise?
“I don’t know if [Barnes] is ready for that responsibility but we have to put him in that position. That’s our jobs,” Ujiri said. “We have to put him in a position to at least grow and start to see dividends of the work he is putting in, to become that kind of player. And I think we’ve seen it.”
Ujiri said the Raptors could be active in more deals before the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 8.
In exchange for Siakam, the Raptors acquired guard-forward Bruce Brown, guard Kira Lewis Jr., forward Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks and a 2026 first-round selection.
Ujiri stressed that the Raptors may not necessarily use all their picks for the draft on June 27 – (they also got a second-rounder via Detroit from the three-way trade with the Knicks).
“You can consolidate these picks. You don’t have to pick them. You can trade them,” Ujiri said. “There are many things that you can do and that’s our thinking with those picks.”
The Raptors were not guaranteed to get anything for Siakam if he decided to leave in free agency this summer.
Toronto fans won’t have to wait long to see Siakam again. The Raptors will play host to the Pacers on Feb. 14.
As for the 2023-24 Raptors, they will focus on growth.
“I think the style of play that [coach] Darko Rajakovic has is very sustainable, going into the future,” Ujiri said. “I think our guys will grow. I think we’ll continue to add players. And we’ll continue to see ways where this team can get better. I think it’s going to take patience.”
Rachel Brady