In an alternate universe, Pascal Siakam would be playing for the Golden State Warriors right now. Instead, the star forward is busy leading his Indiana Pacers to a stranglehold on the Eastern Conference Finals, with a huge performance helping the visitors to a second-straight victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
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After recording 17 points, five rebounds and six assists in the Pacers' stunning Game 1 comeback on Wednesday, Siakam burst out of the blocks with 16 of his team's 24 points in the opening period of Game 2 on Friday.
The 31-year-old finished with a game-high and playoff career-high 39 points to help the Pacers secure a 114-109 victory and take a 2-0 series lead. Siakam shot 15-of-23 from the line and 3-of-5 from the 3-point line, while also adding four rebounds, three assists and finishing as a +15 in the five-point win.
Pascal Siakam rejected a trade to the Warriors last year
Watching Siakam deliver monstrous performances in the playoffs may only burn more for Warrior fans whose team could have traded for the 3x All-Star before he was moved to the Indiana Pacers in January last year.
Siakam was in the final year of his contract with the Toronto Raptors, but reportedly had little interest in re-signing with Golden State. That would have ultimately dissuaded the franchise from trading for him, with something similar occurring this February when the Warriors looked to reunite with former Finals MVP Kevin Durant.
Not only was Siakam not interesting in signing long-term with Golden State, but they were also reportedly unwilling to include Jonathan Kuminga in a deal for him, according to Michael Grange at SportsNet in Canada.
The Kuminga piece of this is particularly frustrating, with Golden State now expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios involving the young forward as a restricted free agent. Not only did the Warriors miss the opportunity to move Kuminga as part of a Siakam deal, but they'll now get nowhere near similar value in a sign-and-trade situation this summer.
Perhaps the Warriors wouldn't have ended up with Jimmy Butler had they pulled a Siakam deal 12 months earlier, but the latter would probably be more valuable anyway given he's four years younger and just received All-NBA votes, not to mention that he'll make around $10 million less over the course of the next two years.
Siakam averaged 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 52/39/73 shooting splits this season, with the Pacers now on track to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years.
