It’s no accident! The transaction value of Sika begins to show!

Looking back at the Pacers this season, they created a surprise story and played a very ornamental offensive frenzy on the court, but to some extent, they were also a bit like a gimmick that made too much momentum.

Pacers started the 2023-2024 season with a strong momentum, and young point guard Halliburton gradually began to show his superstar abilities. By January 2024, the Pacers' offensive efficiency once set a record for the best in league history, but they are still in the lower half of the division ranking. From the team's perspective at that time, the most direct reason was that the team lacked the inside height, and the team's defensive performance was almost at the bottom of the league.

Shortly after entering 2024, the Pacers and Raptors completed the deal, and Siakam was sent to the Pacers, which also included two first rounds in 2024 and the Pacers' first round in 2026. To balance salary, the Pacers sent main force Bruce Brown to Toronto. At that time, most people from the outside world gave an evaluation of this transaction that both parties should take the needs. And after 16 months, the deal seems to have begun to show a winner.

Pacers are currently only 4 wins away from the 2025 NBA championship. Since trading in Kam, the Pacers have transformed into another level of team. As the key core of the team, Siakam played a classic game in the second match of the Eastern Conference Finals, scoring the highest score of the season, leading the Pacers to win when Halliburton's offense was incorrect. He scored 39 points with 15 of 23 shots in the game, with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Various offensive methods have become the biggest killer move that the Knicks are difficult to defend. Looking back at this game, it fully demonstrated the greatest value of Siakam's deal in repairing the Pacers' offensive and defensive structure problems, becoming the absolute main force of the Pacers' advance to the finals, and also allowed him to win the MVP honor in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Retracing this deal, the Pacers' team record in trading Siakam was 23 wins and 17 losses, ranking seventh in the East. Walking was still in the early stages of the championship window with Halliburton as the core, and they also had enough reasons to choose to hold on. After all, no one was really sure that this deal would allow the Pacers to stand out in the Eastern Conference.

At that time, the Celtics were still a champion team. The Philadelphia 76ers had Embiid, who performed at MVP level, while the Bucks still held the dual-core combination of Antetokounmpo + Lillard. Even though he believes that Siakam is the most ideal reinforcement candidate for the Pacers, considering that he has to pay the forward, who is over 30, a huge four-year contract of 190 million yuan, the subsequent challenges are still quite large.

But the Pacers did not hesitate much about this. At least they believed that Siakam's joining could solve many problems of the team at one time. Judging from the content of the game, Siakam's arrival has greatly improved the Pacers' inside size. As a star forward with advantages in height, weight and wingspan, he partnered with Turner to form the team's sturdy frontcourt duo.

More importantly, Siakam brought the Pacers a second offensive starting point. As a ball-holding forward under Halliburton's counterattack rhythm, Siakam itself is also suitable for the Pacers' fast-paced system of ultimately converting fast attacks. Once the pace of the game is slowed down, Siakam can also rely on one-on-one offensive skills to create a scoring advantage in the penalty area by relying on flexible control and footsteps.

After the trade got Siakam, the Pacers' offensive efficiency declined slightly, but the defensive end showed a trend of progress. After entering the 2024 playoffs, the Pacers also encountered some good luck: Antetokounmpo was injured in the series against the Bucks, while the Knicks in the second round were almost injured. In the end, the Pacers successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, but unfortunately lost to the Celtics who finally won the championship.

Although the Pacers' reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 was once regarded as a flash in the pan bubble, from the actual content, this may just be the beginning of the Pacers' proof that they are competitive. In the 2024-25 season, Siakam played the whole season, and the Pacers gradually showed balanced offense and defense. The regular season team ranked ninth in offensive efficiency, and the defensive efficiency climbed to 14th.

Come to the playoffs this season, and the Pacers once again get some luck. When facing the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, Lillard missed many games due to blood clot problems at the end of the season. Although he later made a stubborn comeback, he unfortunately suffered a severe injury from a torn Achilles tendon. In the end, the Pacers advanced with a strong score. In the second round of the showdown, it seemed to face the better Cavaliers, but in the end, Garland was sprained and Mobley's ankle injury, the Cavaliers' state was far from the regular season. The Pacers, who were at a disadvantage, completely crushed their opponents on the field and defeated the leading seed of the division that had won 64 wins in the regular season almost without any suspense.

As for the Celtics, who was originally regarded as the biggest favorite to win the championship in the East, as Tatum suffered an Achilles tendon injury, the Knicks successfully entered the Eastern Conference Finals, and the situation in the division finals suddenly showed an advantage, and the Pacers also seized this opportunity. Combined with

, Siakam's performance throughout the season was excellent, averaging 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, while only 1.4 turnovers. When the breakthrough route is blocked, Siakam can always calmly find his teammates to complete the outside attack. According to data, when Siakam is on the court, the Pacers' net efficiency value can be increased by up to 10.3 points, and the game's influence is quite amazing.

This data alone is enough to know the importance of Siakam to the walkers.

Looking back, the Pacers have invested a lot of chips in this deal, including three first-round picks and the high salary pressure brought by Siakam. It's a high-risk deal, but now it seems that the Pacers have won a big win on this bet. Looking back from the current perspective, the price the Pacers paid for Siakam does not seem to be nothing.

As for the Raptors as the other party to the transaction, the return on this transaction is somewhat unsatisfactory. Looking back at the asset chips obtained by the Toronto Raptors from the Siakam trade, the Raptors should have laid a solid foundation for reconstruction while sending Siakam, Anunobi and Van Jordan away, but they eventually let Van Jordan leave the team for nothing.

Anunobi only exchanged for Barrett and Quickley who performed mediocrely, while the remaining draft pick chips seemed valuable on paper, but in fact, the Raptors were not able to exchange for any truly valuable high-quality assets.

Through this deal, the Pacers have become a team with more balanced offense and defense and more diverse offensive methods. Now, led by Halliburton and Siakam, the Pacers have stepped onto the highest stage in basketball.

The 2024 Eastern Conference Finals are by no means a fluke, and the Pacers' strength this season has gone to a higher level. All this started with the choice of the Pacers management, and decided to make a decision to switch to Siakam.