I think the trade ideas with TOR are interesting. I would offer this:
Brown and White
for
Siakam and Anunoby
This would give us a really big starting group:
Smart
Brogdon
Tatum
Siakam
RWill
Pritchard, Anunoby, Horford, Grant, Hauser, Gallinari
For Toronto, they end up with:
VanVleet
White
Brown
Barnes
Poeltl
This deal fulfills my criteria of getting an all star level big (Siakam) for Brown to better balance the the roster. Anunoby over White is more size and versatility. It is still tough to give up Brown, but this feels like a fair trade. Not sure if this is the perfect trade, but it is something close. I know many would rather give up Smart over White, and I get that, I just can't get the second half of last season for White out of my head. He missed so many shots. But I would be open to that version of the trade also. It is interesting that Brogdon-White was a better pair in the regular season but Brogdon-Smart was much better in the playoffs (by +/-).
To some degree, it is just semantics but I do think there is also something worthwhile to it. I don't like calling Siakam a big.
Siakam is basically the same size as Tatum. They are the same height (6-8 no shoes) and have a similar build (230lbs to 220lbs). Siakam has longer arms (7-3 wingspan to 7 feet). These are largely the same size.
Siakam isn't a big man. He is a forward.
Not all PFs are bigs. Some are bigs. Some are smaller and are forwards. Siakam is a forward.
Nor is he a forward like Draymond who is short like a forward but as strong as a tank with physicality and power who can defend 260lb centers in the post. Nor is Siakam a 6-11 / 7-0 tall PF who has the height of a center.
Siakam has the size of a guy like Tatum.
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We also have an issue with Siakam's defense. He is a strong one-on-one defender but only a slightly above average team defender. He is not disciplined in his defense. He relies on his athleticism. He gets lost a lot. He is not fundamentally sound. You will see Toronto fans complaining about his off ball defense in much the same way we complain about Jaylen getting lost off the ball.
Siakam is not a defensive leader. He is not a defensive anchor. He is a follower. He is a good part of a puzzle.
If you have other great defenders around him, he'll be solid for you. So in Toronto when they won the title, they had Kawhi as a great wing defender, M Gasol as a smart anchor and great communicator, Lowry as feisty guard defender, quality role player defenders in Anunoby and Ibaka.
However, he is not a defensive leader. He will not organize your defense. He will be your main defender. He is not able to do that. He will compete. And his size and athleticism makes him a good one-on-one defender. His team defense is more mixed between the pluses of his athleticism & length and the minuses of his lack of focus and bad positioning.
Tatum, for example, is a much better defender than Siakam.
In Toronto, Anunoby is their best defender. Scottie Barnes is their 2nd best defender. Siakam is 3rd. Siakam is more a good defender than a high level or dominant defender (much like Jaylen).
This is important so that we will properly understand what level of defense he will bring to Boston and that is something that is more in line with what Jaylen Brown brings. And to understand this is not a big man who reinforces our interior defense, but a defensive forward / wing like Tatum. This is not a big man who organizes or anchors our defense.
So when we understand that defensive element, then we can compare their offensive games where Jaylen is the far superior scorer and Siakam a better passer and wonder just how much would (or if at all) Siakam help Boston?