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Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam is entering critical part of development

By Derek Therriault

Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors reacts to a Raptor foul during a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Cente. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors reacts to a Raptor foul during a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Cente. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors is defended by Brandon Ingram #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Is Pascal Siakam Overpaid?

This question is a little less clear than the first, but the answer is still no. One important thing to note is that Siakam made All-NBA 2nd Team this season, which means his maximum extension originally taking up 25% of the cap is now taking up 28% of the cap. In simple terms, he will now eat up about three million more per season. Here is a look at what Siakam will make over the duration of his deal:

2020-2021: $30,559,200
2021-2022: $33,003,936
2022-2023: $35,448,672
2023-2024: $37,893,408

Siakam will be 31 years-old in the final year of his deal, which means he is locked up through the prime of his career. I don’t believe he is overpaid, as his value and most importantly his potential is apparent on both ends.

Firstly, Siakam was an NBA All-Star this season, and not a fringe one either. He was a no-brainer All-Star selection and as previously mentioned, also an All-NBA Second Team forward in his first season as the number one option for the Raptors, after being arguably the number three last season.

Here are some other players around where I believe Siakam’s ranking is in the league, their age (in brackets) and their salaries for 2020-2021:

Pascal Siakam (26): $30,559,200
Bradley Beal (28): $28,751,774
Devin Booker (24): $29,467,800
Ben Simmons (24): $30,559,200
Joel Embiid (26): $29,542,010
Kristaps Porzingis (25): $29,467,800
Paul George (30): $35,450,412
Jimmy Butler (32): $34,379,100
Klay Thompson (32) $35,361,360

As you can see, Siakam is right in line with some of the players in his general ranking. You might argue that every single player on this list is better than Pascal Siakam, and that’s fine, but you could also argue that none of these players can be the best player on a championship team, just like some do with Siakam.

However what is worth noting here is some of these other players have some red flags, with examples being only producing at one end of the floor, battling major injuries, not leading their team to the playoffs and/or struggling in the playoffs.

Aside from Siakam’s playoff struggles, (and let’s not forget his incredible Game 1 in the 2019 NBA Finals versus Golden State) he checks all the boxes for what you are looking for in a star player: a hardworking, two-way wing (the most valuable position in today’s game) with a very small injury history that improves his game every year.

On top of that, one could also argue he doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses that can’t be fixed without some off-season work and/or a new training regimen. Given all of these factors, I do not believe that Siakam can be classified as overpaid. Should he continue to struggle in the future, and fail to improve, we can revisit this conversation next off-season.

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