NBA Rumors: Pascal Siakam trade heats up after Anunoby dealt to Knicks

After trading O.G Anunoby to the New York Knicks, another Toronto Raptors star could be on the move.

According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Toronto will continue to "explore trades involving forward Pascal Siakam". The All-Star is a free agent after this season and has been heavily rumored to be on the trade market for the last couple of weeks. The Kings, Pacers, and Hawks have been named as suitors for the All-NBA player.

While Woj doesn't say that any of those teams have made big or better offers for the veteran, it's fair to say based on this report that Siakam will be completely available in trades going forward. The Raptors are probably not going to sell off the player for nothing, but it's clear the front office doesn't want to risk potentially coming up empty-handed by losing him in free agency.

Toronto recently lost Fred VanVleet for nothing in free agency after rejecting trade offers at last season's deadline. So could that mean being more aggressive in trying to deal Siakam this year ahead of the deadline?

NBA Rumors: Pascal Siakam trade talks heating up after Anunoby deal

The direction of the Raptors has been in question for some time as rumblings of a rebuild resulted in an about-face by trading a first-round pick for a center. At the same time, though, it now appears clear that Toronto is more likely to trade Siakam after this latest deal with the Knicks.

By trading Anunoby for Barrett and Quickley, though, it appears the Raptors are looking to get much younger while not fully entering a rebuild. That could favor a potential suitor like the Hawks, a franchise short on draft capital but who could offer a package including one or both of De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic in a trade offer.

No matter what happens, however, the Anunoby trade ensures that the Siakam trade speculation will be rampant in the coming weeks.