The Indiana Pacers have kept one of their best players from becoming a free agent and hitting the open market. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam intends to sign a four-year, $189.5 million max contract to stay with the Pacers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal can’t be officially signed until the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends on July 6, but you should know how this works by now. After losing the Eastern Conference Finals to the now-champion Boston Celtics, Siakam said he wants to stay with the Pacers.
“Seeing how a city just breathes basketball and how much support they give to the team, just being here, the home games, it’s incredible,” Siakam said after the season. “How would you not be a part of that?”
Siakam was traded to the Pacers in January by the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won a championship in 2019. In 41 games with the Pacers, he averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He averaged 21.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in the playoffs and had some solid showings against Boston in the Conference Finals.
Keeping Siakam is a good, smart move for the Pacers. Siakam is one of their best players, and they have a couple of players who will become free agents this summer. He played a vital role in the Pacers making the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. Now, the Pacers have Siakam and All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton signed through 2028 and 2029, which means they have a young core of players that they can build around. With Siakam and Haliburton, expect the Pacers to be title contenders and win some titles.
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