No. 1 reason Pascal Siakam trade will take the LA Clippers to next level: His chemistry with his former teammates
Pascal Siakam would be playing with multiple familiar faces on the LA Clippers. In fact, both former teammates that he has on the Clippers won a championship with him in Toronto.
Kawhi Leonard was of course one of them, and helped Siakam win that Most Improved Player award in the 2018-2019 season. In that season, Siakam went from averaging 7.3 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game to 16.9 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Kawhi helped him lift his game, and they worked great on the court together.
As far as Ibaka goes, Siakam played better with him than without him as well.
As soon as Ibaka left, Siakam saw a dip in his averages in terms of points scored and rebounds collected. They weren’t huge downfalls, but he did see a major dip in his three-point percentage (.359 to .297).
Ibaka is similar in how he plays to Siakam, and Siakam could learn a lot from the veteran.
Siakam wouldn’t just play well with Leonard and Ibaka, however. He’d play well with the whole squad. If the Clippers get this done, you might just have to pencil them into the 2022 NBA Finals.