One of the Raptors' recurring storylines this year has been Jakob Poeltl's stellar resurgence.
All you need to do is look at the big man's stats on the season, seeing career-high averages in points and rebounds, with quality production elsewhere on the floor too: 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.
When Poeltl began to pop off early in the 2024-25 campaign, calls were being made about the Raptors' decision-making moving forward with their superb Austrian center. Would it make more sense to just sell high on Poeltl's stock in his ninth NBA season, or keep him around as the team's necessary anchor down low?
It certainly was a query worth pondering for a while, until NBA insider intel began to suggest that Poeltl was viewed by the Raptors' front office as a key asset to hold onto for their rebuild.
Even with a week and some change to go before the NBA trade deadline passes on February 6, Jakob Poeltl's name continues to be mentioned in the insider rumor mill, and Marc Stein tells us more about his viewed status across the league.
Stein would discuss the Los Angeles Lakers' interest in acquiring a center to pair with its star-studded forward duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with three names sticking out above the rest.
Here is an excerpt taken from The Stein Line Substack:
"Yet league sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vučević or Toronto's Jakob Poeltl ... while oft-suggested Lakers target Walter Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET."Marc Stein, January 27, 2025
Stein would go on to add about the 29-year-old Austrian native, after discussing Bulls center Nikola Vucevic's crippling salary addition to the Lakers, if ever:
"Poeltl, meanwhile, is a similar case, with a $19.5 million salary looming in both 2025-26 and 2026-27 (player option) and the Raptors believed to be seeking an even richer return than Chicago has sought for Vučević to part with a player many teams believe that Toronto would prefer to keep."Marc Stein, January 27, 2025
Hmm, "...an even richer return," you say? What exactly does that entail?
Without thinking about it too heavily, it's clear that Toronto's main focus is to keep Poeltl around for the foreseeable future. There’s good reason for this decision too, why give up your top center so soon when finding a suitable replacement could prove to be the team's detriment?
Stein's new insights suggest that Toronto would be willing to part ways with Poeltl at the right cost, so he's definitely not untouchable, unlike Scottie Barnes and the recently suggested Gradey Dick.
That doesn't mean they'll jump the gun this year, but just to get a little ahead of ourselves in the interim: what types of assets would entice Masai Ujiri and the Raptors front office to say goodbye to big Jak?
What is the Raptors' asking price for a quality center like Jakob Poeltl?
The Raptors have certainly shown in years past, they find interest in those untapped potential prospects who may have not got a fair shot in their current homes (like Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Ochai Agbaji for example).
So, maybe a guy of that caliber would be the first puzzle piece to working out a Poeltl deal, and this was recently suggested with underutilized Warriors wing Moses Moody envisioned as a potential Raptors' revival project.
Moreover, if the Bulls are just looking for one first-rounder in exchange for Vucevic, that probably means Toronto wants two or an extremely valuable first if their asking price is higher than Chicago's.
Are they asking for too much in that regard? The argument could certainly be made there, but Masai Ujiri is no slouch when it comes to coming out of trades with the short end of the stick. He's no Danny Ainge, sure, but he can undoubtedly swing the bargaining momentum in Toronto's favor.
The Raptors community can probably sleep solemnly for now, knowing that Poeltl will likely remain in the Six past the trade deadline, but don't put it past Masai Ujiri to entertain possible trade talks around the draft or offseason. With this latest Marc Stein intel, Raptors fans can accurately ponder what would tickle Ujiri's fancy in future Poeltl trade discussions.