After getting reports from Shams Charania earlier this week that the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors were discussing a Pascal Siakam trade, the two teams brought the New Orleans Pelicans into the fold and completed a three-team deal with Siakam heading to Indiana. Let’s breakdown the trade from a Fantasy perspective.

Pascal Siakam Traded to the Pacers

The trade:

Pascal Siakam’s Fantasy Outlook

I love the fit and this shouldn’t be news to anyone. Toronto is 17th in points per game this year and Indiana is first and are on a historic offensive pace. Toronto had been playing fast since their acquisition of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, but now Siakam is going to be playing alongside the league leader in assists per game in Tyrese Haliburton and on a team that’s second in pace.

In points leagues, Siakam is ranked 41st after entering the year ranked 48, so he’s already exceeding expectations from that standpoint and now will play in a better system for offense. His three-point shooting will be a crucial part of all this. He started off the year SLOW from three but shot the three ball at a 37% clip in December and is at a blistering 53% in January. Indiana is top-10 in takes and percentage from three, so he could really help in category leagues if that’s a shot that continues to fall. I love the fit for Siakam and if he’s available for trade in any of your leagues, I’d be buying now.

Toronto Raptors Fantasy Outlook

I don’t expect Bruce Brown to stay around for very long as reports are he’s already expected to be a part of another deal.

What does that mean? 

That’s right. It’s Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett SZN. All three of those guys saw their fantasy value skyrocket today. Barrett has had the biggest impact without Siakam on the floor since arriving in Toronto posting a 27% USG rate.

While they’re still figuring out the fallout and potentially looking to make other deals, Dennis Schroder is a very intriguing fantasy asset to own. Toronto is already a team that isn’t afraid of playing small, but we’ve seen Schroder play big minutes this entire season and without Siakam, we should see a lot of Schroder-Quickley-Barrett-Barnes lineups moving forward. If Jakob Poeltl isn’t dealt, this should help him long-term with Toronto losing their ability to go small with Siakam at the five like we’ve seen from them over the past few seasons.

Indiana Pacers Fantasy Outlook

In the picture above, you see what the Pacers newlook roster will be moving forward. This a team that already led the league in scoring, so adding a 20-point per game scorer in Siakam that can play on the ball and move well without it is an elite addition. What will it do for everyone else, however?

We’ll have to see how Indiana decides to chop up center minutes, but you can essentially kiss the Jalen Smith power forward minutes good bye, and if there are any left, it won’t be enough to matter. It’s really hard to have any interest in the likes of Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson, or Obi Toppin, not knowing what their roles will look like with Siakam in the fold. I’m dropping them in all redraft formats.

Losing Bruce Brown *should* help Bennedict Mathurin as there is now one less piece on the wing he’s contending with. He’s not a priority add but if he’s on the waiver wire, he’s someone I’m monitoring the role of when Siakam is implemented. Buddy Hield and Andrew Nembhard remain fringe fantasy assets as they’re more category players to begin with as Hield will help with ratios and Nembhard will help with assists.

As for Myles Turner, he becomes the third option offensively, on some nights even lower on the totem pole, but he should continue to rack up defensive stats for us and remain a top-75 player or so.