Knicks Trade Rumors: $45 Million Bound Pascal Siakam Trade Casualty Interests New York

It’s probably the end of an era (a rather short one at that!) Raptors have traded their two-time All-NBA forward and the 2019 champion, Pascal Siakam, to the Pacers on Wednesday. Even though the NBA trade deadlines are a few weeks away, the blockbuster deal has happened. In fact, Bruce Brown, along with 3 other first-round picks, is going back to the Toronto Raptors amidst the deal. The terms of the deal were first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Siakam, who’s currently averaging 22.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, can now finally be a free agent this summer. As part of the Siakam deal, Bruce Brown was traded by the Pacers to the Raptors. He played an integral role for the Denver Nuggets last season with his championship-winning performance.

As a free agent, he was one of the coveted players at the time and even signed a 2 year, $45 million contract with the Pacers. And now, he’s leaving the team after playing 33 games and averaging his career-high, 12.1 points. Of course, his presence will be missed on the team that believes in running on the offensive side of things.

Wait, but how are the Knicks affected by the ‘Brown and Siakam’ deals?

Ramifications of the Brown-Siakam trade deal for the New York Knicks

The two trade moves come with ramifications for the New York Knicks. While Indiana Pacers acquired Siakam from the Raptors without giving up on Jarace Walker or Bennedict Mathurin, they also had to remove Brown from their squad. The Pacers also have Tyrese Haliburton, and if they are to re-sign Siakam during free agency, they’re creating a stronger depth for their team, making them fierce and dreadful against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference for the coming few years.

But of course, the twist here is that the Knicks also had a significant interest in Brown as of last June during free agency. Of course, the New York Knicks could not match the deal amount for 2 years (i.e. $45 million). They instead signed Donte DiVincenzo for $47 million for a 4-year deal.

While Bruce Brown is in Toronto, if he is available later, there can be a surge of support for bringing him to New York soon. In fact, the Knicks HC Tom Thibodeau has already been his fan for a very long time. They can probably even match his salary later by trading Evan Fournier. Plus, the team has been on the lookout for a ball-handler and a playmaker for quite some time to strengthen their offense. Again, the logic here implies Brown will be the perfect missing piece of their puzzle.

Where do you think Bruce Brown will be later this season? Can the Knicks acquire him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.