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Pacers, Pascal Siakam to agree to 4-year max contract, per report
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- Pacers, Pascal Siakam to agree to 4-year max contract, per report
INDIANAPOLIS — All-Star forward Pascal Siakam will sign a four-year, $189.5 million contract extension with the Indiana Pacers when free agency moratorium ends July 6, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal will tie Siakam with the Pacers until he's 34; the team could have given him a five-year contract for approximately $245 million.
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Pacers president Kevin Pritchard and general manager Chad Buchanan made the offer to Siakam on Tuesday, according to ESPN. This is the first year teams are allowed to begin negotiations with their own free agents after the NBA Finals.
Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) warms up Monday, May 27, 2024, ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Pacers and the Boston Celtics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Pacers acquired the 6-8, 230-pound Siakam from the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 17 for guard Bruce Brown , forward Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks – two in 2024 and one in 2026. In 41 regular-season games, exactly half a season, the 30-year-old Siakam led the Pacers in scoring with 21.3 points per game, shooting 54.9% from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range. He also grabbed 7.8 rebounds per game and dished out 3.7 assists. The Pacers went 23-18 in his 41 games and finished 47-35 overall to grab the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, returning to postseason play for the first time since 2020.
Siakam's experience as a member of the Raptors' 2018-19 NBA championship team paid off in the playoffs as the young Pacers frequently looked to him to settle the group, especially early in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks . He scored 36 points in Game 1 of that series and 37 in Game 2 on his way to leading the Pacers with 21.6 points per game on 54.1% shooting. He also led Indiana with 7.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs and dished out 3.8 assists, helping them reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2014.
In 7 ½ seasons with the Raptors prior to the trade, Siakam was twice named an All-Star and twice named to one of the three All-NBA teams, earning second-team honors in 2019-20 and third-team honors in 2021-22. The native of Cameroon and former New Mexico State star was taken No. 27 overall in the 2016 draft. After averaging 4.2 points per game as a rookie and 7.3 per game in his second year in the league, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on the 2018-19 title team to earn the NBA's Most Improved Player award. After the departure of 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard , Siakam became the focal point of the Raptors offense and he averaged at least 21 points per game in each of his last four full seasons and he was averaging 22.2 per game last season when he was traded. Siakam left as the franchise's fifth all-time leading scorer with 8,875 points, surpassed only by DeMar DeRozan , Kyle Lowry , Chris Bosh and Vince Carter . For his career, he's averaging 17.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
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Siakam was the only member of the Pacers' playoff starting five who was not locked up for 2024-25 season. Reserve forward Obi Toppin , a key piece of the Pacers' bench is scheduled to be a restricted free agent. Veterans Doug McDermott and James Johnson are set to be unrestricted free agents. Center Jalen Smith also has a player option he has not yet exercised.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA free agency: Pacers, Pascal Siakam to agree to 4-year max contract
