Indiana Pacers Urged to Pursue Aggressive Pascal Siakam Move

When the Indiana Pacers made the blockbuster trade to acquire Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors a few years back, it was a clear sign that Kevin Pritchard and the front office were going all-in on winning now.

Since the move was made, Siakam has made the Pacers happy they did it. He has helped lead the team to two Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Two years ago, Indiana not only made the Eastern Conference Finals, they beat the New York Knicks to advance to the NBA Finals.

After taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 of the Finals, the Pacers saw star point guard Tyrese Haliburton go down with a torn Achilles. Unfortunately, Indiana ended up losing that game and coming up one win short of its first NBA championship.

Heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, the Pacers are hoping to pick up where they left off before Haliburton's injury. However, the future of Siakam is starting to become a talking point.

Siakam is under contract through the 2027-28 season. Indiana has time before it needs to extend the multi-time All-Star.

That being said, ESPN's Zach Kram has urged the Pacers to start working with him on a contract extension. He believes that extensions for both Siakam and Haliburton are the team's next order of business.

"Since the offseason began, they've focused exclusively on their bench, adding Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. on short-term deals," Kram wrote.

"The next potential order of business is extension talks for Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, though that's not a pressing concern because both players are still under contract for multiple years."

Last season, Siakam took on the No. 1 role for Indiana with Haliburton sidelined. He played at a very high level. Siakam appeared in 62 games and averaged 24 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals, while also shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from three-point range.

At 32 years old, Siakam isn't getting any younger. The Pacers will likely choose to be patient on an extension. If he can continue playing at the same level this season, a two-year extension could make perfect sense.

Only time will tell, but the veteran star forward is a big part of what Indiana has built. It would be a surprise to see the Pacers pass on another extension. That extension may not come this year, but it's a situation worth monitoring.