The Hawks have been at the forefront of Pascal Siakam trade rumors.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft that the Hawks had attempted "several creative packages" to land Siakam. While they were unsuccessful, Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported in early July that Atlanta "remains a possibility" as Toronto continues to gauge the market for Siakam.
The Hawks made an aggressive move last offseason by trading multiple first-round picks to the Spurs for Dejounte Murray. That's left the cupboard pretty bare, so is Siakam worth pushing the rest of their chips in the center of the table for?
The Sporting News takes a closer look at how Siakam would fit on the Hawks in a trade.
MORE: Who are the best players Raptors could get in a Pascal Siakam trade?
How would Pascal Siakam fit on the Hawks?
Positionally, Siakam would be a pretty clean fit on the Hawks.
There's no knowing what the Hawks would have to give up to acquire Siakam, but it's safe to assume that Trae Young would be off the table in negotiations. Additionally, Murray can't be traded anytime soon after signing an extension, so the plan would likely be to pair the three of them and either Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu at center.
Siakam would add a dimension the Hawks didn't have last season. He's developed into one of the best playmakers at his position, coming off of a season in which he averaged career highs of 24.2 points and 5.8 assists per game. He's a big-time paint scorer, a relentless driver and an improved passer. He would take a lot of the pressure off of Young and Murray offensively, and he's skilled enough to run actions with either one of them as the ball handler or screener.
On paper, Young, Murray and Siakam would form one of the better trios in the league.
MORE: If a team trades for Pascal Siakam, what exactly are they getting?
The biggest concern would be spacing. Murray and Siakam combined to shoot 33.5 percent from 3-point range last season, and both Capela and Okongwu are non-threats outside of the paint. Young has been a high-volume 3-point shooter since entering the league, but he's coming off of a season in which he made only 33.5 percent of his long-distance attempts. He hasn't been as accurate of a 3-point shooter as you might think considering some of the shots he takes and makes.
To make up for those shooting limitations, the Hawks would ideally fill the last spot in the starting lineup with a knockdown shooter. That would get complicated if the Hawks gave up Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey or AJ Griffin, who were among the most accurate 3-point shooters on the team last season.
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder would also have his work cut out keeping everyone happy. Few players dominate the ball as much as Young does on offense, and he would have to sacrifice touches to make room for Murray and Siakam. Murray did scale his usage back some last season after being the No. 1 option in San Antonio. Siakam has had the highest usage rate on the Raptors in each of the last four seasons.
The Hawks had a top-10 offense last season and would have the potential to be even better with Siakam if Snyder could figure out the right balance. Defense was the much bigger issue for them.
| Stat | Points Per 100 Possessions | Rank |
| Offensive rating | 115.5 | 7 |
| Defensive rating | 115.4 | 22 |
Siakam has never made an All-Defensive team, but he's been a part of some elite defenses in Toronto and has proven himself to be a versatile defender. The Hawks will have defensive limitations as long as Young is on the roster, but Murray, Siakam and Capela or Okongwu would make for a solid defensive core capable of matching up with most teams.
It might not elevate them to the same level as the Bucks, Celtics and Heat, but the addition of Siakam would give the Hawks a shot at cracking the Eastern Conference's second tier of contenders.
Pascal Siakam contract details
Siakam is entering the last year of his contract. He'll make $37.9 million in the 2023-24 season and enter unrestricted free agency in 2024.
| Season | Pascal Siakam's salary |
| 2023-24 | $37,893,408 |
| 2024-25 | UFA |
Substack's Marc Stein reported on July 16 that Siakam has "made it clear" that he prefers to stay with the Raptors and has signaled an "unwillingness" to sign an extension with any team he's traded to. The possibility of him being a one-year rental could make a team like the Hawks hesitant to part with significant assets.
If Siakam makes an All-NBA team in 2023-24, he would be eligible to sign a five year contract worth almost $300 million with the Raptors.
