The Toronto Raptors’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night felt a little bittersweet. Given all the rumors that most of this Raptors roster was bombarded with, it could have been the last game for a number of fan favorites.
With OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr, Fred VanVleet, and even Pascal Siakam being mentioned as names that could be moved elsewhere, the belief was that Toronto would walk away with a surplus of draft capital. However, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster never dealt any player listed above.
The Raptors’ lone trade saw them ship away Khem Birch, a top-6 protected 2024 first-round pick, along with second-round picks in 2023 and 2025 to bring back their former top 10 pick Jakob Poeltl. Given their 26-30 record, along with Poeltl being an upcoming UFA, the trade felt a little peculiar from Toronto’s end.
The Toronto Raptors are acquiring San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl for Khem Birch, a protected 2024 first-round draft pick and two future second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/9Iz7KFCd20
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
The Raptors, who are currently in sole possession of 10th place in the Eastern Conference, are in prime position for a play-in spot. Irrespective of if they make it or not, the Poeltl trade has changed the shape of their future draft capital for the next few seasons.
Toronto Raptors future draft picks after Jakob Poeltl Trade
2023 Draft:
- Own first-round pick
2024 Draft:
- Own first-round pick (Top-6 protected or conveys to SA)
2025 Draft:
- Own first-round pick (Top-6 protected or conveys to SA if not conveyed in 2024)
2026 Draft:
- Own first-round pick (Top-6 protected or conveys to SA if not conveyed in 2024 or 2025)
- Own second-round pick
2027 Draft:
- Own first-round pick
- Own second-round pick
2028 Draft:
- Own first-round pick
- Own second-round pick
2029 Draft:
- Own first-round pick
- Own second-round pick
It will be interesting to see how the Raptors approach the next few seasons, given how lightly protected the picks are. One interesting note, the Raptors will have three key free agents this summer (Trent, VanVleet, and Poeltl). Signing all three would certainly put them in quite a big financial bend.
The Raptors appear to have made these trades with the intent of competing in an open Eastern Conference following the Nets parting ways with Kevin Durant. How close you think the Raptors are to actually achieving that goal might influence how good of a job you think Ujiri did at the deadline.
Poeltl was already back at OVO having breakfast this morning when people arrived
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) February 9, 2023
If they are unable to grind out some victories in the short term with Poeltl in the fray, this could be a pivotal moment in the history of this franchise for the wrong reasons.