4 impact centers the Toronto Raptors could potentially trade for

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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 4: Jakob Poeltl #25 and Devin Vassell #24 of the San Antonio Spurs go for a rebound against Khem Birch #24 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

3. Jakob Poeltl, San Antonio Spurs

As the ninth pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, the Raptors organization has always been high on the potential and talent of Poeltl. Just 2 years later, however, the summer breakup of 2018 saw Poeltl and DeMar DeRozan get traded to the Spurs for Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.

It’s been a few years since then, but The Gregg Popovich School of Hard Knocks continues to find ways to develop their talent and bring the best out of their roster. This season, Poeltl is averaging a career-high in minutes (29.1), points (13.1), and rebounds (9.0) per game while swatting 1.7 shots away and shooting 61% from the field.

The 7-1 Austrian just turned 26 and is headed into his prime. With the Spurs losing DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, they are struggling to find an identity in the post-Duncan era. They might be open to trades while they look to the future to get this team back into playoff contention.

Jakob Poeltl would be ideal for the Toronto Raptors.

Trading for Poeltl won’t be easy, as it could push the Raptors into the luxury tax territory that they’re looking to avoid. Poeltl is earning $8.75 million this year and has another year left with $9.3 million on his contract.

A combination of Boucher, Dragic, and future picks is a possibility, but the Spurs have 19.4 million reasons to say no to Dragic’s fat contract.

It would be a feel-good story to get Poeltl reunited with his former squad and the team that gave him his first break in the league, but Masai will have to get creative to make this work. If he pulls it off, Toronto would get the rim protector they’ve lacked all season long.