Raptors fans have long been pushing for a center upgrade and an end to the Jakob Poeltl era in Toronto. Poeltl is getting older, doesn’t fit Scottie Barnes’s timeline, and is quickly declining due to back issues. Moving on from him is easier said than done, however, because the Raptors felt the inexplicable need to sign him to a massive contract. He is vastly overpaid, and few teams would be eager to take him on. In fact, the Raptors may even have to pay another team to take his contract—but even that could prove difficult, according to Sam Vecenie.
“The Poeltl deal is just really underwater, and I do wonder if a team would even take 19 to take Poeltl,” Vecenie said on the Raptors offseason episode of the Game Theory Podcast.
Having to trade their first-round pick this season to move on from Poeltl would be tough for the Raptors. Keeping him would be, too, because of how it limits them financially, but the Raptors’ best option may just be to accept their mistake and keep him as an overpaid role player, as Vecenie’s podcast partner, Bryce Simon, outlined.
“Jakob [Poeltl], his contract is what it is,” Simon said on the same Game Theory Podcast episode. “Maybe, you don’t think CMB is ready to be the starting center, right? Maybe, you like the role that he was in at the end of the year and into the playoffs where you just start Poeltl, you know he’s going to be overpaid for playing 20 minutes a night, but you like that for Collin Murray-Boyles and for Mamukelashvili.”
The Raptors have no one else to blame for their Poeltl struggles
Ever since they re-signed Poeltl, the Raptors have been in a conversation no one wants to be in: they entered the competition for the worst contract in the NBA. But there’s nothing they can do about that now except hope that some tanking team would be willing to take on Poeltl’s contract and some draft compensation or that the big man will have a Renaissance in his thirties.
Given how difficult back injuries are to manage and fully recover from, it may not be incredibly likely, but there is a slim, slim chance. After all, Poeltl was a much more productive player for the Raptors just a season ago. He averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.2 steals in over 29 minutes per game in the 2024-25 season. But with the emergence of Collin Murray-Boyles, Poeltl will have to produce in smaller stints if he’s still on the Raptors’ roster next season.
