Three and a half years after being sent to the Spurs in the operation by Kawhi Leonard, Jakob Poeltl has aroused the interest of the Toronto Raptors, a franchise in which he played during his first two seasons in the NBA.
That transfer propelled the franchise to the first ring in its history, but the Canadians have had serious problems putting together a solid inside game since the departures of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka in 2020.
Poeltl, 26, is having a very productive individual season in San Antonio. The big men he is averaging his career highs in scoring (12.4), rebounding (8.8) and assists (2.7) in the 34 games he has played, 33 of them starting.
According to journalist Marc Stein, the Raptors want to add a protect rim of guarantees to complement Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam on defense, as well as serving as an interesting partner for Fred VanVleet in the pick-and-roll.
However, the position of center It is perhaps the most unprotected of the Spurs, so it is not clear how interested Gregg Popovich’s men would be to get rid of their starting ‘5’. Poeltl has another year left on his contract for $9.4 million.
(Cover photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)