Pascal Siakam has never played in an NBA all-star game. He’s owned a double-figure scoring average in precisely one NBA season. At age 25, he’s been playing basketball for less than a decade.
If you’re a risk-averse person who’d prefer a little more proof that Siakam is what the Toronto Raptors hope and believe he is, you probably wouldn’t have done what Masai Ujiri did on Saturday — that is, agree to terms with Siakam on a four-year contract extension that’ll be worth somewhere in the neighbourhood of $130 million (all dollars U.S.). That’s the maximum allowable bill for a player of Siakam’s seniority, which means he’ll occupy a full 25 per cent of Toronto’s salary cap when the extension begins in 2020-21.