Raptors lock up Jakob Poeltl and, unlike Toronto teammates, it wasn't an overpay
Team wants to be competitive and big Austrian has made them better over years.
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To borrow from Jay-Z, the Toronto Raptors might have 99 problems, but a centre ain’t one.
The team officially locked up Jakob Poeltl on Tuesday to a deal worth $104 million US over four years.
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Raptors lock up Jakob Poeltl and, unlike Toronto teammates, it wasn't an overpay Back to video
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Poeltl, who turns 30 in October, averaged career highs of 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 29.6 minutes in 57 games last season, but his impact goes way beyond the raw stats.
While some have scoffed since details of the contract first leaked out last week, arguing it was an overpay, anyone who says that simply hasn’t watched a lot of Raptors games since the big Austrian was re-acquired from San Antonio in 2023.
Toronto has been passable (winning just under 40% of the time and barely getting outscored when he has been on the court) with Poeltl, the team’s best rebounder, interior defender and screen setter in the lineup and downright horrific (winning just 22.8% of the time while getting outscored by nearly 1,000 points in 57 games) without him.
While defence is Poeltl’s bread and butter, even without attempting any three-pointers, Poeltl also is a big help on offence. He shot 62.7% from the floor in 2024-25, fifth in the NBA, is a clever passer and has great hands.
In a perfect world the Raptors would surround star player Scottie Barnes with a floor-spacing centre, given the former rookie of the year’s stalled development as an outside shooter, but Poeltl does everything else at either an elite or above-average level.
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“Jakob has developed into one of the league’s top two-way centres and signing him to an extension was a top priority this off season,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said in a statement.
“As valuable as he is on the floor, we also really appreciate his leadership and experience off-court. Jak shares our goals — he wants to win as much we do, and we’re thrilled he’ll be a Raptor for seasons to come.”
Poeltl originally was drafted ninth overall in 2016 by the Raptors and never wanted to leave, but was a key ask for San Antonio in the Kawhi Leonard blockbuster.
“Toronto has always felt like home for me — I want to be a Raptor for life. Thanks to Bobby and team ownership for believing in me, and to the fans for their amazing support,” Poeltl said in the statement. “We have a young core that’s full of potential and I believe we’re ready to take the next step. I can’t wait to get together back on the Scotiabank Arena court.”
The last part was a happy change from last Fall. Poeltl has long been aligned with Toronto’s plans and even raised some eyebrows when he candidly said at media day last September what was obvious, but usually left unspoken — that it was going to be a developmental year for the franchise.
“I think we all know we are not going to attack the championship this year,” Poeltl said ahead of that season. “It makes no sense for us to try to win every single game as much as we can and sacrifice development.”
The Raptors met one goal in successfully developing a new young core, but failed at the other dream of landing in the high lottery. The repeated resting of key veterans didn’t result in a place at the bottom of the standings.
Now, as Poeltl mentioned, things have changed. The Eastern Conference is wide open and a franchise that has missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons is ready to turn a corner.
Poeltl has only 22 games of playoff experience. He missed out on most of Toronto’s ‘We the North’ success and landed with the Spurs right before a rebuild.
As for the contract and the naysayers, well, Poeltl agreed to pick up his player option of $19.5 million, meaning he will once again get that amount this season and next after already receiving it in the previous two seasons.
Toronto did very well on that contract, Poeltl was underpaid. With the deal staying low for two more seasons, the team’s salary-cap crunch is eased. By the time he gets $26 million, $28.1 million and as much as $30.25 million (the final year is only partially guaranteed) the NBA’s salary cap will have gone up, helping Toronto deal with the rise in what Poeltl commands.
Centres of his caliber make similar money and he has long been in high demand, with teams constantly calling the Raptors about his availability over the years.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo recently argued on the Bill Simmons Podcast that Toronto has the bleakest five-year future in the East, in large part, they argued, because every key player was given too much money.
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While there’s some truth to that — Immanuel Quickley hasn’t proven he’s worth anywhere close to the $32.5 million he now commands annually, Brandon Ingram’s injury history makes his nearly $40 million annually a clear overpay (especially given the current icy cap climate in the NBA due to the restrictive luxury-tax aprons), RJ Barrett likely wouldn’t find the same annual value on the open market these days either.
The argument against Barnes is flawed. How often has anyone seen a former rookie of the year and all-star not get maxed out? Orlando’s Paolo Banchero just signed his own five-year deal for even more (and a lot more if Banchero qualifies for the supermax). Banchero’s a far superior offensive player, but they aren’t close defensively.
Plus, they’re ignoring the many low-cost players on rookie deals who fill out the rotation.
As well, outsiders seem to be unaware that it simply costs a bit more to get players signed in Toronto. OG Anunoby was probably the last surprising bargain landed by Toronto.
A little extra helps offset the taxes (though why that isn’t also the case in places with similarly high taxes, like California and New York is a good question).
Regardless, Poeltl’s new deal won’t fall into the overpay category for the Raptors.
We’ve seen what life is like on the court without him and it isn’t pretty.
@WolstatSun
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