Now that the Kawhi Leonard trade is finally official, the Raptors are one big step closer to building a contender around Scottie Barnes. If you asked Raptors fans which position needs the most urgent upgrade after this trade, many would say center.
When healthy, Jakob Poeltl is a fine center who offers great size, solid rebounding, and good screens. The problem is that his health is anything but guaranteed. He played just 46 games last season after appearing in 50 and 57 games, respectively, in the two previous seasons.
However, upgrading the center position is easier said than done. The Raptors are in a tight financial crunch—partly due to the confusing extension they gave Poeltl that no one seems to want to take back in a trade.
But Poeltl’s contract isn’t the only problem. Good starting centers who are ready to deliver in the playoffs don’t grow on trees, as Sam Quinn outlined on the Third Apron podcast.
“There’s kind of a game of center musical chairs going on right now where there are maybe like 16 or 17 centers in the entire NBA that are really reliably playoff-viable, and the teams that don’t have them are really scrambling to find them or trying to find alternative solutions.”
That evaluation doesn’t bode well for the Raptors’ chances of finding a better starting center soon.
The Raptors have a few options to navigate their center problem
The Raptors’ best-case scenario would be that Poeltl can stay healthy and has a bounce-back season. In that case, his contract wouldn’t look quite as bad, and moving him might be easier. They could also just keep him around for now, accepting that they may not have a great starting center but at least a solid one.
However, that simply might not happen.
If Poeltl continues to struggle, the Raptors’ primary fallback option is to limit his minutes and play Collin Murray-Boyles at the five a lot in matchups that allow them to use an undersized lineup. They also have Nate Bittle, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Trey Jemison III. Hopefully, one of them can contribute at least in the regular season. Kyle Anderson should also be able to play some small-ball five minutes.
Despite those other options, the Raptors may simply have to bite the bullet and attach draft assets to Poeltl’s contract to move him in a trade for an upgrade if he doesn’t play well by the trade deadline.
For example, Quinn floated a trade that would send Anthony Davis to Toronto for Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, another salary, and picks if the Wizards decided to trade the former. He also noted that it would be tough financially because it would take the Raptors into the first apron.
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