INDIANAPOLIS — Welcome Home, Pascal Siakam.
Those are the words that were displayed on various signs all over the Ascension St. Vincent Center — the Indiana Pacers practice facility — on Monday. Siakam, a 30-year old forward, re-signed with the Pacers via a four-year max contract, and the messaging is clear. After spending his entire career in Toronto before a trade to the Circle City, Siakam has a new long-term home. It’s with the Pacers in Indiana.
Siakam was acquired by the blue and gold just under six months ago. They traded three first-round draft picks to the Toronto Raptors — along with salary filler — to get the deal done. The Pacers saw an opportunity to acquire a key upgrade, and they reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. But despite Siakam’s comments about wanting to make Indiana home in late January, the Pacers still had to seal the deal when it came to free agency.
They showered Siakam with support and made him feel welcomed. The two-time All-Star forward acknowledged that being traded was difficult, but how he was treated with Indiana made the transition easier. So did winning, and his close relationships with several key members of the roster helped.
Indiana made it clear that re-signing Pascal Siakam was priority number one in the offseason, and they got it done. The deal became official on Monday in the practice facility as Siakam sat between Head Coach Rick Carlisle and President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard.
“I’m just super excited about the future of the team,” Siakam said before praising his teammates. “I just can’t wait for us to continue to get to work.”
Carlisle explained that during the offseason, a contingent of Pacers coaches and front office members went down to Orlando, Florida to meet with Siakam and his representatives. DIscussion of the future was important, but a key part of that gathering was getting to know Siakam better. During the heat of battle in-season, that isn’t easy to do.
Siakam described that meeting as great. It meant a lot while making the process smooth, and it continued the pattern of the Pacers giving Siakam comfort and relief when he needed it. He shared that a combination of several things made Indiana an easy choice for his signature in free agency: The winning, the fans, and the support from the franchise all mattered a great deal. The building Pacers could provide it all.
“It was great. Just them taking the time and coming, just talking with me. And I think for me, it’s just getting to know each other. They get to know who I am as a player, as a competitor,” Siakam said of the meeting. “For me, the goals were there. I always want to be [on] a team that aspires to win… we just had everything aligned for us.”
He wants to win, and the Pacers are able to do that. They reached the conference finals in large part thanks to Siakam’s terrific play — he was the best playoff performer early in the postseason — and his teammates rose to the occasion as his numbers returned to normal. That feeling made Siakam feel better about Indiana.
Then, there were the fans. Siakam had played in Indiana before, but he said it felt different when he actually donned the blue and gold. “It’s incredible,” he said of playing in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, “Because of the energy, the passion.”
And above it all, the support felt genuine. It was never over the top, yet always enough. Consolation was key, and Monday was another example of it. Siakam had a press conference just to re-introduce himself to the city. It was the first time he had a press conference just for him.
“He’s never had a press conference for him,” Carlisle shared. “So this is the first-ever [Siakam] press conference, what a glorious day it is.”
All of those things played a part in Pascal Siakam making Indiana his new home. The Pacers knew they needed to re-sign the former All-NBA forward when they traded for him earlier this year, and they spent the time to make sure it got done. Now, they proceed forward together — and it starts a new era of Pacers basketball that will feature expectations.
Siakam, though, is fine with that. He’s made All-Star teams and won a championship before. This isn’t anything new to him. What he hopes is that he can continue to get better — as a shooter, a rebounder, a defender, and more — throughout the life of the contract. The Pacers have a ton of young talent. If Siakam can get even better, then the Pacers should be a playoff mainstay — if not more — during his four-year contract.
“He is an incredible talent. And I didn’t know how good he was and how good he is. And so that culminates into today. We’ve signed Pascal to a four-year max deal,” Pritchard said. The total value of the contract is just under $189 million. Siakam averaged 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for Indiana.
Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton joked that he would be blowing Siakam’s phone up all summer in an attempt to recruit him to stay. He wanted the star forward to know how he feels and that he wanted him back. Siakam said on Monday that the two talked throughout the summer and that he’s looking forward to playing with Haliburton again, and he specifically believes they can be better as a duo.
Between Haliburton’s recruiting, the trip down to Orlando, and the supportive moments along the way, the Pacers franchise was aligned to keep Siakam. It made all the sense in the world to do so. They were aiming for a player of his caliber at his position for a while, and they got one.
It goes back to the Pacers In-Season Tournament run in late 2023. Pritchard started to really believe in the 2023-24 version of his team at that time and identified that they needed to be aggressive since they weren’t far away from contending.
They looked around and realized Siakam was the one. They made the trade, likely with some knowledge that they had a good chance to re-sign the 2019 NBA Champion. And thanks to the Pacers checking a number of important boxes, they were able to retain Siakam.
“This is easily the biggest free agent signing in the history of this franchise,” Carlisle said. That’s why Monday was such a big day for the Pacers. Siakam is back in Indiana, and he’s ready to win.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/news/the-indiana-pacers-gave-pascal-siakam-no-reasons-to-leave-and-now-he-has-a-new-home
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Publish date : 2024-07-08 20:29:13
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