New Name Heating Up in NBA Trade Buzz, Only Adding to Damian Lillard-Blazers Drama

While the bulk of the NBA trade chatter over the past few weeks has been primarily focused on Damian Lillard and a bit on James Harden, a new name apparently may be intensifying around the league. Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been linked to possible trades previously this offseason, but there’s a chance things could ramp up in the near future.

According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, the Raptors are reportedly “still listening” and “trying to gauge the market value” for Siakam. Grange reports the Pacers have reached out with interest in acquiring Siakam, while the Hawks and Magic are two other teams to monitor.

Arguably the most interesting aspect of the report is that the Raptors “don’t intend to drag the process out for weeks or months,” per Grange. In turn, this is essentially the exact opposite of the situation with Lillard and the Trail Blazers, although the two situations have a number of differences.

Potential Pascal Siakam Trade Impact on Damian Lillard

There are obviously a number of ways any potential deal could impact Lillard, and on the surface, the three teams initially eyeing Siakam haven't been linked heavily to Portland's star. But if conversations begin to expand on a Siakam trade and other teams come into the mix, there's a world where it could water down the return the Blazers get for Lillard, depending on how that pans out.

Lillard will surely bring back a larger return than Siakam in a potential trade, but if the Raptors opt to move the forward for a lower-than-expected price, that also could lead to teams being even more cautious with any potential offer for Lillard.

Tack on the fact that the bulk of the buzz points to Lillard only wanting to play for the Heat, which only complicates Portland’s outlook even more. The last thing the Blazers need is for something—anything—to have a negative impact on their attempt to get the best return possible in a trade sending their long-time star out of town.