NBA Trade Grades: Toronto Raptors undo a mistake, bring back Jakob Poeltl
Before the whole world lost its minds over the Kevin Durant trade, Poeltl was traded to the Raptors. Who made out best in this deal?
In the non-blockbuster move of the day, the Spurs traded Jakob Poeltl for a 2024 Raptors first-round pick and two second-round picks. The 2024 first-round pick is protected, with the protections unclear at this point.
The Spurs were able to unload one of their veterans and get draft picks back in the deal. San Antonio still has two solid veteran players to move in a deal — Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson. Those players are expected to move today.
The Raptors get Jakob Poeltl, a player to help lead past their current core
The team doesn’t have a clear direction after this trade. The Raptors could look better on this trade if Toronto gives a clear direction on where they go on their veterans. It is a bit bold to trade for Poeltl when you haven’t already traded your core but Toronto doesn’t like to tank. Poeltl has a history in Toronto and the same front office is in the one that drafted him so it makes sense for them to be interested in him.
I would assume that he is gonna resign in the off-season with the team. Obviously, if he doesn’t re-sign, this trade grade goes down to a C-. If OG Aunoby gets traded for the number of picks that Toronto has wanted then this deal makes a lot more sense. With Durant in the west, it makes sense for a lot of contenders in the West to trade more assets for him.
Raptors Grade: B
The Spurs get picks in return for a veteran who wasn’t gonna resign
The Spurs didn’t get the two first-round picks that they wanted for Poeltl. Instead, they got a first-round pick and two seconds. For a player that the Spurs were not going to re-sign this offseason, getting a first and two seconds is still a very good return.
This trade was pretty easy to make for the rebuilding Spurs. When doing a complete rebuild; trading away any vet that has any value makes complete sense. Poeltl wasn’t gonna re-sign this offseason in San Antonio so it makes even more sense.
The Spurs also ended up with Khem Birch who has been registering DNPs for the Raptors. He does have $6 million for next year but the Spurs don’t really need the cap space as they are not gonna be a free-agent destination next offseason.
Spurs Grade: B+
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