After a very poor season, the Toronto Raptors entered a summer of uncertainty that ended with them losing veteran point guard Kyle Lowry and replacing him with Goran Dragic. While it seems like it is now time for Pascal Siakam to step up and lead, that did not stop the media to report some trade rumors coming out of the only Canadian team in the NBA.

In a massive interview with the New York Times, Siakam opened his soul and spoke about the rumors and how they affected him. When asked whether he thinks that the Raptors rumors are messed up, he stated:

Yeah. I think it is. Definitely. And I think it’s something that I’ll probably definitely struggle with. You know? And I think even just like the negativity about my name. For me, it was weird. Because I’m like, “Damn.” I’m such a positive person, the people that know me.

When asked about his relationship with the Raptors, he stated that he did not feel that he was the guy for the team, something he struggled with. He expanded:

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That was the only thing really that I felt. It was like, “We got you the max contract, but are you the guy?” I think that’s something that I was struggling with. Kyle was there, being a point guard. Kyle was, to me, always the greatest Raptor of all time. I think he was always like, “I was the guy.” I had the contract, but I never really felt like I was the guy, to be honest.

The Raptors finished 27-45 and missed the postseason for the first time in eight years. Pascal Siakam ended the year averaging 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.