Toronto Raptors projected starting lineup after Jakob Poeltl trade

As the Toronto Raptors fans collectively freak out that they aren’t sitting on two huge trade packages worth of picks, let’s all take a second and appreciate that Masai Ujiri just plugged the roster’s biggest hole.

The lack of a rebounder and rim protector left a team that was advertised as a versatile defensive nightmare as more of the same over and over and over again. Watching OG Anunoby wrestle with the 280+ pound Joel Embiid in last year’s playoffs was fun, but at some point, you have to wonder why we didn’t have a single defender in that weight class.

The Raptors acquired Jakob Poeltl in exchange for a first-round draft choice that is top-six protected in the next three seasons, a second-round pick, and center Khem Birch.

Raptors starting lineup after Jakob Poeltl trade

• PG: Fred VanVleet
• SG: OG Anunoby
• SF: Scottie Barnes
• PF: Pascal Siakam
• C: Jakob Poeltl

Now, that starting group isn’t written in pen either. With the flexibility to go big, the Raptors’ small-ball five (insert Gary Trent Jr. for Poeltl) becomes a weapon to be deployed strategically rather than out of necessity.

That takes us to the bench. A backup unit that had been one of the worst in the league this season has now seen a return and ascension of Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher finding his touch from 3-point range. With this latest addition to the starting five, a more permanent spot for Trent to be a microwave off the bench.

• SG Gary Trent Jr.
• PF Precious Achiuwa
• PF Chris Boucher
• PF Thad Young
• C Christian Koloko

All of a sudden, the talent of the bench unit is impossible to ignore. It also frees up some pressure on the team’s best forwards to worry more about creating on the offensive end without having to wrestle around true centers on defense.

One more fun wrinkle in this Poeltl acquisition, it’ll help Scottie Barnes out a lot. The best passers always like to have a big roller around the basket. Barnes has elite passing instincts, but in an offense without a pick-and-roll man, inconsistent shooters, and a star in Siakam that has been developing a ball-dominant habit, Barnes the playmaker was not put in the best situation to succeed.

With Poeltl, Barnes has one of the better old-school rollers in the game. Expect to see the Barnes/Poeltl connection take effect immediately.

The questions surrounding the team this summer will always hang over this season, but in the short term, the Raptors just got their hands on the only starting caliber five-man they’ve had since the bubble.