3 Raptors who must step up after polarizing Jakob Poeltl trade

1. Jakob Poeltl

Poeltl is coming back to Toronto under an immense amount of pressure. Ujiri is so confident in the Austrian’s rim protection abilities that he believes Poeltl will be able to fix that glaring issue by himself. While he didn’t play much in his Raptors debut, he is expected to make his way to the starting lineup eventually.

Poeltl is not only going to be a quality shot-blocker and rebounder, but he will also need to show some skill as a screener and passer. If he thrives, Toronto could finally start operating more like the team that was a postseason menace under Nurse’s watch.

The Toronto Raptors will lean on Jakob Poeltl.

Poeltl, an impending free agent that will almost certainly be retained, cost the Raptors a pick that is only protected in the top six for the next three seasons. This puts pressure on Toronto to either compete for a postseason spot or bottom out and tank for the No. 1 pick.

With Poeltl in the fold, Toronto can at least feel more comfortable about their aggressive defense knowing he will be at the rim to clean up some of the mistakes. This had better work, as Ujiri may have completely torched Toronto’s long-term flexibility in the process.