Various reports have pegged the Sacramento Kings as a team that'd like to upgrade its roster before the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline. And, for a few hours Friday, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam was their latest rumored target.
However, The Athletic's Shams Charania cited sources in updating his reporting to reveal the Kings have decided to pull out of Siakam trade talks. No reason for Sacramento's decision was given.
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Earlier in the day, Charania reported on The Stadium's "The Rally" show that the Kings had emerged as a "serious suitor" for Siakam, who coincidentally will be in Sacramento for Friday night's Raptors visit to Golden 1 Center.
"The Raptors are ramping up trade talks around Pascal Siakam, and I'm told the Sacramento Kings are emerging as a serious suitor in Siakam," Charania said then. "They are among the offers and options that Toronto has, and this is a gaining interest for Sacramento to pair and combine a Big Three of Pascal Siakam, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, if they are able to pull a deal off."
Siakam, a two-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection and 2019 NBA champion, is in the final season of a four-year, $136 million contract. So, any team would acquire a rental unless the 29-year-old commits to sign an extension if he is traded, Charania reported.
"But what could be a very integral part of these conversations with Siakam is he's on an expiring contract of about $38 million," Charania said. "And his willingness and desire to re-sign as a free agent in July, whether that's in Sacramento or another team that he does get moved to, that's going to play a big part in this. That could play a major role in this, if the team trying to get him is going to want to check into whether he will re-sign as a free agent, and if not, that could also [discourage] some teams."
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Siakam has averaged 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 34 games this season, and while he's shooting a career-best 52.1 percent from the field this season, he's just 28.8 percent from 3-point range.
While Charania didn't report what the Kings could send to the Raptors in a deal for Siakam, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported Friday that Sacramento has called teams to gauge their interest in a Harrison Barnes-Kevin Huerter package, while also making guard Davion Mitchell available in trade talks.
The Kings currently don't own their 2024 first-round draft pick, which is top-14 protected and would go to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the 2022 Huerter trade. They can't trade their 2025 pick because of the Stepien rule that prohibits a team from dealing consecutive first-rounders, but they still have their top picks in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.
After ending their lengthy NBA playoff drought last season, the Kings expected to take the next step this season. And while they're now middle-of-the-pack in a loaded Western Conference, it appears pairing Siakam with Fox, Sabonis and Keegan Murray won't be the move they'll make to raise their status.
Then again, as Charania said, things can be fluid in the world of NBA trades.