It’s a brave new landscape in the NBA where star players speak openly about front-office moves that rival teams should make.
On a recent episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” the Los Angeles Clippers star weighed in on the reports of Golden State Warriors targeting Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline.
George encouraged the Bay Area squad to pull the trigger on the transaction, explaining why Warriors and Raptors swapping Jonathan Kuminga and Siakam, respectively, would “be a win” for both teams. George acknowledged that Golden State would have to include either Andrew Wiggins or Chris Paul to make the salaries work.
“I saw them putting Pascal and Kuminga in a trade [rumor],” George said. “I thought about it, and I was like, ‘That’s a win for both sides.’ Like, obviously, Golden State would have to add more just from a contract [salaries] meeting up.
“He [Siakam] can be the No. 1 option, but that’s not exactly where he’s the best at. I think him being the second [or] third option is where he can really shine — because he’s a guy that can do a little bit of everything. I think it works perfectly, playing with Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson] — they spread the floor, he can rebound, playmake.”
On the flip side, George believes the retooling Raptors would equally benefit from adding the 21-year-old Kuminga to its young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
“Kuminga is coming into his own,” George continued. “Toronto’s in this rebuild, but ready-to-get-better and win-now mode — they just traded for RJ and Quickley, and they have Scottie Barnes. You add another young guy like Kuminga, and that could be a fun team for years to come.”
While there have been conflicting reports about Warriors moving on from Kuminga, a recent report from NBA insider Shams Charania indicated that “everyone but Stephen Curry” is on the table as it pertains to trade discussions. As for the Raptors, the franchise up north has reportedly been actively shopping Siakam but has a steep asking price for the two-time All-Star.
Both Warriors (18-21) and Raptors (15-24) are currently outside the play-in picture and looking to turn around their fortunes ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
