Pros and Cons of Raptors making big trade for Jakob Poeltl

Verdict

The Raptors may need to look at other options before circling back to Poeltl. While getting more rim protection would be terrific for this team, they need to figure out a way to get some extra shooting and perimeter depth before they commit so much ammunition to Poeltl.

While games like the Sacramento loss show the limits of this roster, Toronto has left so much meat on the bone from the perimeter. Fixing that should be priority No. 1, as two of their best shooters in Precious Achiuwa and Otto Porter Jr. will be on the mend for the foreseeable future. 

The Toronto Raptors face long odds to acquire Jakob Poeltl

While Poeltl may have made more sense a few years ago, he’s slowly becoming an elite two-way center that even a tanking team is not going to give away to a motivated buyer. Given the challenges of building a winner in Toronto, Ujiri must be very judicious with how they part with their draft capital.

Poeltl would certainly be an upgrade if the Raptors can somehow acquire him without giving up Gary Trent Jr. or a player of a similar ilk. Unfortunately, that may not be a realistic offer. Raptors fans shouldn’t get too obsessed with bringing in Poeltl specifically.