Raptors a lock to re-sign Jakob Poeltl
Per multiple sources around the league, the Toronto Raptors are a “lock” to bring back center Jakob Poeltl, whom the team initially drafted at No. 9 in 2016. He was a necessary sacrifice in 2018, sent to the San Antonio Spurs in a package for Kawhi Leonard.
Source: Eric Pincus @ Bleacher Report
Source: Eric Pincus @ Bleacher Report
More on this storyline
With Nick Nurse gone, the only prominent front-facing figures that remain from that 2019 team are Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, and their futures are very much uncertain as well. VanVleet will opt out of his contract and join Jakob Poeltl and Gary Trent Jr. as unrestricted free agents this summer. Siakam and Anunoby have been and will continue to be featured in trade speculation. Outside of Scottie Barnes, who is coming off a disappointing follow up to his Rookie of the Year campaign, everybody and everything is on the table as the off-season kicks into high gear ahead of the draft in late June and free agency at the beginning of July. -via TSN / April 21, 2023
Vivek Jacob: Masai says Jakob Poeltl is a top-10 centre and the right centre for this team, even if other pieces might need to be adjusted. “You don’t necessarily have to tear down your team to build it back up.” -via Twitter @vivekmjacob / April 21, 2023
“VanVleet’s a player, and so is Scottie Barnes. Poeltl is a competent center. He’s nothing special, but he’s certainly competent and provides a pretty good defensive presence. Siakam is one of the better scorers in the league. And all Gary Trent does is make buckets. Yet they can’t bust a grape. “I like their talent level. We’d love to have some of that. But together, what they have doesn’t work. It just doesn’t. I think Nurse has been around, and he realizes when the bloom is off the rose.” -via Heavy.com / April 14, 2023