LAS VEGAS—Not four steps in the door at the Cox Pavilion for another Summer League game and an NBA scout I’ve been dealing with for almost 30 years calls me over to chat about Pascal Siakam.
“Hey, young fella,” he says. “Where they trading him?”
Walk the length of the court to find a baseline seat with easy access to more NBA talent evaluators and front office personnel and another old friend gestures.
“When are you leaving,” he asks.
“Tuesday night, about 10:30.”
“So the trade goes down at 11?”
The Raptors may have an aversion to drama — they very much like going quietly about their business and are in parts bemused and tired of being talked about so much — but they are among the most talked about franchises today.