NBA Rumors: 5 best trade destinations for Pascal Siakam

No. 2 Pascal Siakam trade destination: Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have mastered the regular season. With one of the deepest rosters in the NBA and a great young coach in Taylor Jenkins, there’s not much more Memphis can hope to accomplish over the course of 82 games. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. were both All-Stars last season; Desmond Bane will join the club sooner than later.

But, despite winning 51 games and securing the No. 2 seed in a cutthroat Western Conference, the Grizzlies were dispatched in the first round. Several factors beyond basketball contributed to that outcome, but here’s the simple fact: Memphis hasn’t proven it can win on the biggest stage yet.

The roster doesn’t really need any tweaks. A healthy Bane, a distraction-free Morant, and the newly acquired veteran leadership of Marcus Smart feels like a strong antidote to last season’s ailments — assuming the Grizzlies can actually check all three boxes. Morant will start the season with a 25-game suspension. Smart is great, but he comes at the expense of Tyus Jones and Dillon Brooks, both of whom were important rotation pieces in 2022-23.

Another potential solution for the Grizzlies? More star power. Siakam would immediately take over as the franchise’s second-best player behind Morant. His self-creation skills, consistent rim pressure, and underrated passing chops would connect a lot of dots for one of the league’s best offenses. He’s a great transition threat, making him a perfect running mate for Morant. Plus, he’d fit hand-in-glove next to Jaren Jackson Jr. in a smaller, switch-friendly frontcourt.

Memphis has all its picks to trade, plus plenty of intriguing young players up and down the roster. Morant, Jackson, and Bane are off the table, but the Grizzlies are bursting at the seams with underrated, frankly underutilized first, second, and third-year players for Toronto to siphon away.