Pascal Siakam

The Raptors are going in the wrong direction from a competitive standpoint, but we're seeing Siakam's fantasy value skyrocket because of it. This versatile big man had a career year in 2022-23, providing 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Those points and assists totals marked career highs, which is no surprise since he had a 27.2 percent usage rate. That number could be his floor this year because Toronto decided to part ways with Fred VanVleet. Siakam was already the primary playmaker with FVV on the team, but Siakam should be asked to do everything since VanVleet's 19.3 points and 7.2 assists are out of the picture. Dennis Schroder was brought in to replace VanVleet, but Siakam is the de facto point guard in this system. One disappointing aspect of Siakam's fantasy stat line was his defense last year. The big man had just 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks, his lowest totals since becoming a regular in this rotation. That said, Siakam averaged 37.4 minutes and 18.5 shots per game in this gargantuan role. As long as that's there with the bump in touches, Siakam should be in for a monster season with FVV playing in Houston. Siakam will likely be gone before the fourth round in most drafts.

Siakam directed a strong 2021-22 season, making Third Team All-NBA - his second time earning an All-NBA nod. The forward set new career highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (5.3) and steals (1.3) while leading the NBA in minutes per game (37.9). He also added 22.8 points on 49/34/75 shooting. Siakam's improved rebounding was largely due to him playing more center than ever before. The Raptors went with a small-ball approach for most of the season, which resulted in him seeing 37 percent of his minutes at the five. The franchise didn't add any competition at the position during the offseason, so Siakam should continue to start there so OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes can also start. Siakam's realignment to center has also authorized him to shoot fewer threes - an area where he's posted mixed results. His three-point attempts have declined over the past two seasons, and he tallied just 1.1 triples per game last year. It's possible that starts to trend up, but fantasy managers shouldn't bank on it. By usage rate (25.8%), Siakam claimed the No. 1 spot for Toronto last season, and that should still be the case this season. Barnes' emergence as a playmaker will be an important trend to watch, and Fred VanVleet carries plenty of responsibilities as well, but Siakam has a high floor as a fantasy player given his role on the team. He ranked 33rd in per-game fantasy value in 2021-22.

After four years of continuous growth, Siakam appeared to plateau during what was a tough 2020-21 season for the Raptors. For starters, the Raptors played all their "home" games in Tampa Bay. They also finished with a 27-45 record and missed the playoffs. Siakam's per game points (21.4), rebounds (7.2) and blocks (0.7) dipped modestly last year, though his steals (1.1) and assists (4.5) improved. And his free throw percentage improved to 82.7 percent. With four games left in the season, Siakam hurt his left shoulder, which led to surgery in early June. The procedure means he's unlikely to be available at the start of the 2021-22 season and could miss a few weeks of action. As he enters his age-27 season, Siakam has been involved in various trade rumors, which makes sense if Toronto decides to go into rebuild mode now that Kyle Lowry is in Miami. The Association was surprised to see Toronto take 6-foot-9 forward Scottie Barnes with the fourth pick in last summer's draft. Most experts believed the Raptors would snag high-scoring guard Jalen Suggs. The addition of Barnes certainly adds validity to the Siakam trade rumors. Both Golden State and Sacramento have been rumored destinations. Assuming Siakam stays with Toronto, the departure of Lowry should make more shots available for both him and Fred VanVleet. A healthy Siakam could, come December, see more field goal attempts than last year's 17.2 per game. If he can shake off his shoulder issues, a return to Siakam's 2019-20 All-Star production is certainly possible.

Siakam built upon his Most Improved Player campaign, upping his stats again in 2019-20, making the All-Star game and an All-NBA team (second) for the first time following the departure of Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers. The young forward managed career highs nearly across the board, averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 combined steals-plus-blocks across 35.2 minutes. He also secured 12 double-doubles across his 60 appearances, including what was arguably the best game of his career, posting 37 points (12-19 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 8-8 FT), 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks with just two turnovers in 38 minutes against the Suns. Siakam's role is secure heading into 2020-21, and there's an opportunity for it to increase as well if the franchise shifts into a younger rebuild with him at the helm. With that in mind, fantasy managers should feel comfortable drafting Siakam in the third round, if not sooner, given that's where his production placed his value last season.

Siakam broke out during his third year in the league, winning the 2018-19 Most Improved Player award. He became a full-time starter and saw his usage rise to 23.1 percent from 14.4 percent the previous season. Across his 80 appearances, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 31.9 minutes. Siakam was extremely efficient in the process, ranking 16th in the NBA in true shooting percentage (62.8). He put together some big games, dropping at least 30 points on five occasions, plus a 40-point outing, as well as accumulating 18 games with double-digit rebounds and 17 games with more than four assists. With Kawhi Leonard leaving the Raptors over the offseason to play with the Clippers, Siakam may be in line for another leap forward. With Leonard off the court last season, Siakam averaged 20.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a combined 1.9 steals/blocks per 36 minutes. It's possible Siakam's efficiency will suffer on a worse version of Toronto, but he should be one of the main offensive options alongside Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol.

After playing just 55 games as a rookie, Siakam saw his role grow in his second season in Toronto. He averaged a career-high 20.7 minutes, while adding 7.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 81 games. He finished with a 50.8 percent clip from the field and while he attempted to extend his range (29 attempts), the experiment didn't exactly go well and he shot just 22.0 percent from three-point land. Still, Siakam provided plenty of energy and has a ton of athleticism, so the Raptors could try and tap into that more during the upcoming season. The third-year big man does appear to have an opportunity for more playing time following the organization's big offseason. DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl were traded to the Spurs in exchange for superstar Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Poeltl's departure, specifically, should afford Siakam more frontcourt minutes considering the Raptors didn't bring any bigs back in the deal. While Siakam will need to continue to develop his shot and become a much more productive three-point shooter, the added workload could boost his numbers elsewhere across the stat sheet and he'll have every chance to take the next step forward in his development. However, his Fantasy expectations shouldn't be too high and he'll still likely be avoidable in all but the deepest of leagues.

Siakam was drafted out New Mexico State with the 27th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft and saw plenty of opportunities to contribute during his rookie campaign. The 23-year-old end up starting 38 of the 55 games he played in, but struggled mightily to make much of an impact and averaged just 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds across 15.6 minutes. Due to his struggles, the Raptors ended up scaling down his playing time as the season wore down and after the Raptors added both P.J. Tucker and Serge Ibaka at the trade deadline, Siakam was essentially a non-factor in the team's regular rotation. Other than Tucker, the Raptors have nearly the exact same roster from a season ago, as they re-signed both Kyle Lowry and Ibaka. That means Siakam is going to be stuck in a reserve role yet again, so it's unlikely he'll see improvement on his rookie year numbers unless an injury occurs higher up on the depth chart. Look for Siakam to battle both Lucas Nogueira and Jakob Poeltl for minutes off the bench in the frontcourt.

Siakam, a 6-foot-10 power forward out of New Mexico State, was the Raptors' second first-round selection of the 2016 NBA Draft, settling in as the No. 27 overall selection. Siakam turned in impressive averages of 20.4 points (on 53.6% shooting from the field), 11.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last season, though as a small-school product, the big man's numbers carry the stigma of mostly coming against low-level competition. His draft stock didn't really begin to take off until he shined during the measurements portion of the NBA Combine. Siakam checked in with a huge 7-foot-3.25 wingspan, and that coupled with the non-stop hustle he displayed in workouts and games would seemingly make him a good candidate to eventually serve as a rotational big man at the next level. While Siakam's physical advantages worked for him against shorter players in college, he could have trouble exerting his will in the NBA, particularly on the offensive end. With Jared Sullinger and Patrick Patterson in the fold to handle the bulk of the minutes at power forward, Siakam won't be asked to see regular time as a rookie. However, since neither of those veterans are under contract beyond 2016-17, Siakam could have a clear path to a rotation spot as soon as next season, but his ceiling is fairly limited as a player more reliant on effort than raw talent.