Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam elevating team to contender status

In his third season with the Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam has put the rest of the league on notice which has turned the team into a powerhouse.

When the Toronto Raptors made the trade to acquire Kawhi Leonard, many feared the price would have been either Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby in a potential package.

To see neither player going to San Antonio brought a lot of relief for the Raptors because it ensured that vital components of the team’s core remained intact for the foreseeable future. Not only has Leonard and Danny Green provided everything they could have asked for, but it is also hard to ignore the contributions from the young starts especially Siakam.

The 24-year-old was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, after a dominant stretch where he averaged; 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and shot .724 from the field. We all know what he brings defensively, and many wondered if he could elevate his offensive game to make himself a two-way star.

With his latest performances, the media is rightfully providing Siakam with the attention he deserves which hasn’t been easy for players on this team other than Kawhi and Kyle Lowry. While both veterans are performing at a level many would expect, people have been excited by the potential Siakam brings.

Clearly, Masai Ujiri saw this when he drafted the Cameroon native 27th overall in the 2016 NBA draft and even Dwane Casey alluded to this as Chase Kell of Yahoo Canada Sports writes.

"“The sky is the limit for him,” said Casey in a conference call with the media. “I knew from the first day he worked out for us in Buffalo. He couldn’t throw rice in the ocean out of a rowboat at that time. But now to see him making shots and playing.“The kid has an NBA motor, and I knew that, and his heart and spirit are in the right place.”"

While the Raptors’ championship aspirations rely heavily on Lowry and Leonard, having Siakam perform at a high level is more crucial than people might realize. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet points out, teams need to develop stars internally in order to be successful especially a team like the Raptors who don’t have much flexibility with the NBA salary cap.

Usually, players who aren’t picked in the top-10 take time to develop their skills and teams get lucky when one is able to contribute as Siakam has. Fortunately for the Raptors, Siakam isn’t the only one with the way OG Anunoby has progressed.