After being drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2016, Jakob Poeltl is returning to where it all started after he was traded north of the border by the San Antonio Spurs ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Nearly five years after he was dealt to San Antonio in the Kawhi Leonard trade, Poeltl was traded back to Toronto in exchange for Khem Birch, a 2024 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2023 and 2025.
Poeltl is questionable for the Raptors game against the Utah Jazz on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, but told The Athletic's Eric Koreen he hopes to play.
“Life in the NBA just flies by. It's been good. I'm happy to be back,” Poeltl said about the last few years. “I got opportunities to grow as a player [in San Antonio]. Over the years our team got younger, and I had to take on responsibility. It was a little bit of mixed emotions. I'm leaving a life behind in San Antonio…I'm excited to play winning basketball again.”
Poeltl appeared in 326 games with the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, 2.1 assists per game and 1.4 blocks per game over just under 23 minutes per game.
He owns the Spurs’ franchise record for single-season field-goal percentage after shooting 64.5 percent in 2018-19, according to NBA.com.
Poeltl told Koreen he's going to try to get comfortable with the system first before really asserting himself, with a strong focus on defense. He changed from No. 25 with the Spurs to No. 19 with the Raptors, and said the reasons for the change are personal.
If the league allows Jakob Poeltl to play on Friday, expect him to suit up and play a significant role for the Toronto Raptors in his first game back with the team in five years.
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