INDIANAPOLIS — RIck Carlsile called retaining Pascal Siakam priority one for the Pacers this summer. Tyrese Haliburton he will be calling and texting Siakam constantly in a recruiting effort. Everyone in the Pacers organization knows how important it is for the team to re-sign the talented forward in the offseason.
Siakam, who turned 30 in April and was acquired by the Pacers in a trade just a few months ago, was terrific for the blue and gold. He averaged 21.3 points per game in the regular season and even more in the playoffs. His leadership in the postseason shined.
The two-time All-Star was everything Indiana needed him to be. It was obvious why the team traded for Siakam — he’s a great player and a terrific fit with the franchise, and his rebounding was something the team needed. They wouldn’t have made the Eastern Conference Finals without him.
“He just doesn’t get rattled,” Carlisle said of Siakam after a game in the playoffs. The veteran forward shot 54.1% from the field in the postseason.
Now, with the 2023-24 campaign over, Siakam is an unrestricted free agent. He is free to sign with any team in the league, though the Pacers have some advantages. They can offer the former All-NBA forward more money and a longer contract than any other team. Early offseason reporting suggests that there is mutual interest between the Pacers and Siakam in free agency.
Siakam’s max contract is currently a five-year deal worth $245.34 million, though that will change slightly based on where the 2024-25 salary cap lands. He is coming off of a four-year deal worth just under $137 million.
The star forward discussed what he is thinking about in free agency after the Pacers final playoff game earlier this week. “I’m not going to talk about all that, but all I can say is that it’s been a blessing. I’m really appreciative of everything. I think, coming from where I come from, it means a lot. The support I’ve received here is something that I was kind of missing,” Siakam said when asked if Indianapolis is a place he would be ok coming back to next season.
“And having all that and 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 continued. “How would you not be a part of that? So for me, I’m just really blessed and happy how this has been. And I think that in terms of [the] future, whatever happens is going to happen.”
Indiana sent three first-round draft picks, along with Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora, to the Toronto Raptors to acquire Siakam in mid-January. Just after the deal, multiple reports surfaced that the Pacers had confidence that they would be able to re-sign Siakam during the offseason. “I’m excited that Pascal [Siakam] is getting a first-class opportunity with the Pacers, being paired with Tyrese [Haliburton] and Myles [Turner] and being coached by a great coach in Rick Carlisle. His future looks bright there,” Siakam’s agent, Todd Ramasar, told Marc J. Spears of Andscape in January.
Siakam and the Pacers can officially begin negotiating a new contract one day after the NBA Finals ends.
