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By Josh Wilson
Jakob Poeltl likely returning to Toronto Raptors
Eric Pincus reported that sources have told him the Toronto Raptors are a “lock” to re-sign Jakob Poeltl this summer. The signing, if it happens, would be a reunion for the two sides (again), as Toronto drafted Poeltl in 2016. They reacquired him in a trade this year after he spent four and a half years playing with the San Antonio Spurs.
His career was off to a strong start with the Raptors, but ultimately was sent to the Spurs along with DeMar DeRozan to get back Kawhi Leonard. Seeing as how that trade earned the Raptors an NBA Finals win, they’d do it again, but the opportunity to get a strong rim protector back on a multi-year deal like Poeltl will make that whole storyline even sweeter.
His hallmark year was 2020-21, where only three players that played greater than 1,000 minutes rated higher defensively than him (if you use FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR as your benchmark).
Since that season, Poeltl has improved his offensive game as well, going from around eight points per game to double-digits in per-game scoring.
Poeltl has developed into more or less the player Toronto hoped he’d be when they drafted him, so the opportunity to get him back for the long haul would be a win.