Fansided

2016 NBA Draft: where are they now?

By Brandon Jefferson

TORONTO, ON - MAY 7: Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) reaches in on Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43). Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers in1st half action of Round 2, Game 5 of NBA playoff play at Scotiabank Arena. Raptors win 125-89 and now lead series 3-2. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 7: Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) reaches in on Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43). Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers in1st half action of Round 2, Game 5 of NBA playoff play at Scotiabank Arena. Raptors win 125-89 and now lead series 3-2. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – JUNE 24: Toronto Raptors draft pick Jakob Poeltl, displays his jersey in the practice gym at BioSteel Centre. He’s fresh out of Las Vegas draft. The 20-year-old is the first Austrian to be drafted by the NBA. Poeltl’x parents, sister and best friend were on hand for the announcement also. (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – JUNE 24: Toronto Raptors draft pick Jakob Poeltl, displays his jersey in the practice gym at BioSteel Centre. He’s fresh out of Las Vegas draft. The 20-year-old is the first Austrian to be drafted by the NBA. Poeltl’x parents, sister and best friend were on hand for the announcement also. (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

9. Jakob Poeltl, Toronto Raptors

The world-champion Toronto Raptors famously just won the NBA Finals with a roster that didn’t feature a single lottery pick in any NBA Draft. However, in 2016, the Raptors did select someone in the lottery. They took Utah’s Jakob Poeltl with the ninth-overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Austrian center played two seasons for the Utes and left as a consensus All-American after nearly averaging a double-double (17.2 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game) as a sophomore.

The Raptors had Valanciunas locked in as a starter, but wanted to use this shot at a lottery pick to fortify the depth behind him going forward. Poeltl was one of the top interior players available by consensus and getting him at nine was thought of as a great move by Toronto. The rest of the roster was pretty set and the Raptors felt confident that they were just some additional frontcourt depth away from being a team that could truly challenge LeBron James in the Eastern Conference.

During his first year, Poeltl appeared in 54 games but only in spot minutes for the Raptors. Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka ended up being the two primary big men for Toronto that season. In just 11.6 minutes per game, Poeltl had a minimal impact as a rookie. His role was truncated in the playoffs as his playing time dropped to just 4.3 minutes per game in six games.

The following year, Poeltl saw his role increase and it seemed like Toronto was well on its way to getting a good return on investment of the choice to bring Poeltl on board during the 2016 NBA Draft. They truly got that in more when they packaged Poeltl with DeMar DeRozan and their 2019 NBA Draft first-round pick to obtain Kawhi Leonard last offseason. In San Antonio, Poeltl became the Spurs starting center and averaged a double-double (12 points and 11.6 rebounds per game).

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