Pascal Siakam emerged as the heir to Kawhi Leonard's role after the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA title. A 2016 first-round pick who did not become a full-time starter until the 2018-19 campaign, Siakam won the league's Most Improved Player award and first averaged more than 20 points per game in 2019-20, when he earned his first All-Star selection.
The Raptors reached the playoffs in 2022 but slid back to the lottery in 2024, prompting them to trade Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr. and three first-round picks. Brown, who had signed a two-year, $45 million deal after the Denver Nuggets' 2023 championship, was sent a year later to the New Orleans Pelicans along with Kelly Olynyk and future draft capital for Brandon Ingram.
Healthy in 2025-26, Ingram returned to All-Star form and guided Toronto to its first playoff appearance in four years before struggling against the Cleveland Cavaliers and missing the back end of the series with an injury. The Raptors then sent Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple first-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Leonard, who had first arrived in Toronto in 2018 and left for the Clippers as a free agent after the championship.
The chain of moves closes a near-decade arc for the franchise as it seeks a second title.
