Pascal Siakam: "Toronto.. thank you for everything" - Player's Tribune

[ill-Will03]

Class act through and through. Thank you for everything P, you deserve all the success and accolades that will come your way. I really wish it did not have to end like this, but that is the business. Shoutout to Pascal for all the stuff he does off the court, and ofc for the championship. One of my favorite raptors of all time. He NEEDS to retire a raptor.

[ATLTimekeeper]

That's very true; discounts don't happen often, but don't be upset that you can't be a Raptor for life when you had the choice to stay.

Kawhi left money on the table to go home.

No Kawhi signed the max in LAC. He then opted out and re-upped at a max extension and then just recently signed a near max extension that will take him from age 33-36. This is also with a team that is very likely circumventing the cap.

[ontnut]

Trading pascal for a bag of chips will go down as one of the biggest fiascos in raptors history. This is on you, Masai.

And there it is. Always gotta be at least one.

[Basketball_Jones]

Yeah I think we really have a large African community in the GTA and that's something to really miss if you're Pascal. It's actually really fitting seeing it grow and having Masai and Pascal at the helm of this team. Indiana I imagine is going to be extremely different.

[ontnut]

But now I’m realizing the sad part…. that it’s about to be my journey in reverse: probably a few less RAPTORS 43’s in the crowd at the next home game, then a few less at the game after that, then a few less, a few less, a few less. And that’s OK. That’s how it goes. I’ll tell you what though: When I’m back next month as an opponent, and it’s the national anthems, and I’m standing there looking around? I do hope maybe I spot one. And I’ll still give it a YESSSS!!! on the inside. It’ll still mean a lot to me. Because it’s still a Toronto thing.

And I’m Toronto forever.

—P

Dammit Pascal.

I hope he comes back during the offseason and people around Toronto give him a warm welcome back and high fives and nothing but nice words. He deserves it.

Raptors should do a free tshirt giveaway with a Pascal Raptors 43 on the front as a tribute. How dope would that be?

[Dread-Eye]

I just ordered Siakam gear from Sport Check on clearance - https://www.sportchek.ca/en/search-results.html?count=24;m_ct_sort=sort-price;q=raptors;store=241;page=1

[Dennis 37]

That's very true; discounts don't happen often, but don't be upset that you can't be a Raptor for life when you had the choice to stay.

Kawhi left money on the table to go home.

No Kawhi signed the max in LAC. He then opted out and re-upped at a max extension and then just recently signed a near max extension that will take him from age 33-36. This is also with a team that is very likely circumventing the cap.

Did we not have his bird rights?

USA Today:

The Raptors own Leonard's Bird rights and can offer him a five-year, $189.6 million deal. Other teams can offer a four-year deal worth $140.6 million. Leonard can also negotiate a shorter contract, too, and it may not be about the most money, either.Jun 14, 2019

Looks like we did, and it looks like Kawhi did leave money on the table.

[WaltFrazier]

These Players' Tribune pieces are usually a bit glib, but, damn, this one feels sincere. Solid dude.

Norm's was awesome too. And Norm more recently did that interview where he said he had wanted to stay a Raptor, and that the group of him, Pascal, OG, and Fred could have been the new core after Kyle moved on.

That would have been my dream scenario, those four sticking together as career Raptors, plus Scottie, Jak, and a Quickley type guard. I know many will say that's too sentimental, and the cold hard business of pro sports doesn't allow it. But what a nice way to keep the We the North culture going. As David Thorpe said, a trio of Scottie, Pascal and OG is a nucleus to really build on. If only Masai had been able to get the pieces to make it happen.

[Chalky_White]

This one was released super quick, usually takes a bit after a departure. Makes you think the deal was in the works for a while so he had time to craft a well written farewell.

Quickley took like two weeks to release his goodbye, likely cause the trade was quite the surprise for him.

Not sure when Quickley found out, but I thought the discussions started between the Knicks on/around Dec 11th, and then the trade happened on Dec 31st, so basically around 3 weeks.

Quickley mentioned a few times that the trade completely surprised him. Didn't hear any rumours or anything so he just found out when his agent woke him up from a nap and told him when it was done.

[rocky_da_best]

**** hell I'm still devastated over him being traded. I wonder if he can find the African snacks and food in Indiana lol

Highly doubt it lol. Indianapolis makes rural towns in the Prairies seem diverse

[James_Raptors]

This one was released super quick, usually takes a bit after a departure. Makes you think the deal was in the works for a while so he had time to craft a well written farewell.

Quickley took like two weeks to release his goodbye, likely cause the trade was quite the surprise for him.

Not sure when Quickley found out, but I thought the discussions started between the Knicks on/around Dec 11th, and then the trade happened on Dec 31st, so basically around 3 weeks.

Quickley mentioned a few times that the trade completely surprised him. Didn't hear any rumours or anything so he just found out when his agent woke him up from a nap and told him when it was done.

Yup, I watched that same Open Gym and heard what he said.

[YogurtProducer]

These Players' Tribune pieces are usually a bit glib, but, damn, this one feels sincere. Solid dude.

Norm's was awesome too. And Norm more recently did that interview where he said he had wanted to stay a Raptor, and that the group of him, Pascal, OG, and Fred could have been the new core after Kyle moved on.

That would have been my dream scenario, those four sticking together as career Raptors, plus Scottie, Jak, and a Quickley type guard. I know many will say that's too sentimental, and the cold hard business of pro sports doesn't allow it. But what a nice way to keep the We the North culture going. As David Thorpe said, a trio of Scottie, Pascal and OG is a nucleus to really build on. If only Masai had been able to get the pieces to make it happen.

Reality is if we keep Norm instead of GTJ there is no telling if we move up in the draft, then get stuck in no mans land with FVV/Norm/OG/Siakam with no Barnes.

Essentially the same timeline, with Norm instead of GTJ, and no Barnes (potentially).

[djsunyc]

This one hit me hard. Why did you have to post this…got a grown 30 year old crying now.

it started like this:

[WaltFrazier]

These Players' Tribune pieces are usually a bit glib, but, damn, this one feels sincere. Solid dude.

Norm's was awesome too. And Norm more recently did that interview where he said he had wanted to stay a Raptor, and that the group of him, Pascal, OG, and Fred could have been the new core after Kyle moved on.

That would have been my dream scenario, those four sticking together as career Raptors, plus Scottie, Jak, and a Quickley type guard. I know many will say that's too sentimental, and the cold hard business of pro sports doesn't allow it. But what a nice way to keep the We the North culture going. As David Thorpe said, a trio of Scottie, Pascal and OG is a nucleus to really build on. If only Masai had been able to get the pieces to make it happen.

Reality is if we keep Norm instead of GTJ there is no telling if we move up in the draft, then get stuck in no mans land with FVV/Norm/OG/Siakam with no Barnes.

Essentially the same timeline, with Norm instead of GTJ, and no Barnes (potentially).

Well in my reality, we keep Norm, get Maxey for Kyle, still get Scottie, and bring back Jak a year sooner. And maybe get Olynyk as a stretch 5. Eastern contender, and We the North rolls on. Please don't spoil it with practical things like timelines and salary cap and contracts.

[2019nbachamps]

So the rumours were true. He wanted to sign an extension here but Masai didn’t tender an offer over the summer, ghosted him, and then let him know during the season he would be traded. One of the rare premier Raptor players that wanted to stick around. Unfortunately management felt differently. I wish him the best and hope he gets a 5 year max.

[ATLTimekeeper]

That's very true; discounts don't happen often, but don't be upset that you can't be a Raptor for life when you had the choice to stay.

Kawhi left money on the table to go home.

No Kawhi signed the max in LAC. He then opted out and re-upped at a max extension and then just recently signed a near max extension that will take him from age 33-36. This is also with a team that is very likely circumventing the cap.

Did we not have his bird rights?

USA Today:

The Raptors own Leonard's Bird rights and can offer him a five-year, $189.6 million deal. Other teams can offer a four-year deal worth $140.6 million. Leonard can also negotiate a shorter contract, too, and it may not be about the most money, either.Jun 14, 2019

Looks like we did, and it looks like Kawhi did leave money on the table.

He's made 194 million in his 5 seasons in LAC.

[2019nbachamps]

These Players' Tribune pieces are usually a bit glib, but, damn, this one feels sincere. Solid dude.

Norm's was awesome too. And Norm more recently did that interview where he said he had wanted to stay a Raptor, and that the group of him, Pascal, OG, and Fred could have been the new core after Kyle moved on.

That would have been my dream scenario, those four sticking together as career Raptors, plus Scottie, Jak, and a Quickley type guard. I know many will say that's too sentimental, and the cold hard business of pro sports doesn't allow it. But what a nice way to keep the We the North culture going. As David Thorpe said, a trio of Scottie, Pascal and OG is a nucleus to really build on. If only Masai had been able to get the pieces to make it happen.

Reality is if we keep Norm instead of GTJ there is no telling if we move up in the draft, then get stuck in no mans land with FVV/Norm/OG/Siakam with no Barnes.

Essentially the same timeline, with Norm instead of GTJ, and no Barnes (potentially).

Enough with the revisionist history. We finished like 7 games back of the next team the year we tanked. Management would’ve just rested Norm too. The trade made sense logically but it didn’t materialize as expected. Out of all our blunders the last 4 seasons I’d rate this as one of the lower ranked ones. I wish we had Norm but the trade didn’t debilitate us.

[KL78192020]

No Kawhi signed the max in LAC. He then opted out and re-upped at a max extension and then just recently signed a near max extension that will take him from age 33-36. This is also with a team that is very likely circumventing the cap.

Did we not have his bird rights?

USA Today:

The Raptors own Leonard's Bird rights and can offer him a five-year, $189.6 million deal. Other teams can offer a four-year deal worth $140.6 million. Leonard can also negotiate a shorter contract, too, and it may not be about the most money, either.Jun 14, 2019

Looks like we did, and it looks like Kawhi did leave money on the table.

He's made 194 million in his 5 seasons in LAC.

Looks like these days its better to sign short term deals as the cap keeps going up quicker than what a 5 year max can offer with bird rights. Only the supermax is really worth signing.

[galeon110]

This one hit me hard. Why did you have to post this…got a grown 30 year old crying now.

it started like this:

This is what made Masai break down during his presser too. Sharing a championship with these two, one of whom was a camp counselor, the other being a success story of theses camps in South Africa. Inspirational.

[johanliebert]

So the rumours were true. He wanted to sign an extension here but Masai didn’t tender an offer over the summer, ghosted him, and then let him know during the season he would be traded. One of the rare premier Raptor players that wanted to stick around. Unfortunately management felt differently. I wish him the best and hope he gets a 5 year max.

or maybe the Front office/MLSE didn't agree to his terms. Pascal more than likely wants max on a long term deal.