The Indiana Pacers pulled off the first major domino of NBA trade season by acquiring Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. The move has the potential to catapult the Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings especially when Siakam is paired with current Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton was set to return to the Pacers lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at the same time Siakam was make his debut. Before the game, Siakam took to social media to get Pacers fans hyped up for his first game with the team.

Pascal Siakam was traded to the Pacers after playing the first seven seasons of his career with the Raptors. He was a two-time All-Star and was a major part of the 2019 championship team. The No. 27 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Siakam experienced the G League grind before becoming a regular member of the Raptors rotation.

Siakam was having another All-Star caliber season this year and had been a consistent 20-point per game scorer since the 2019-20 season. He had been averaging 22.2 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists with splits of 52.2 percent shooting from the field, 31.7 percent shooting from the three point line and  75.8 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Siakam joins the Pacers as they hold the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings. They are currently 24-17 and have won seven of their last ten games. They are essentially tied record-wise with the Miami Heat for sixth and out of the play-in, but the Heat hold the current tie-breaker.