We're not talking about whether the Spurs will trade Poeltl or not. Not really. We can't control that. We're talking about what kind of return makes sense. So who asked or doesn't really matter. Winning the deal doesn't matter. Is Poeltl worth more than a decent first-rounder? I don't know. At the beginning of the year, he obviously seemed like it. But he hasn't played like he's even a positive player, let alone worth a big return. His contract isn't that great. The NBA doesn't have a linear value system. There are obviously plenty of worse values out there, but guys like Gobert who make four times as much are worth it, and there are guys making the minimum who are serviceable. The only real benefit of Poeltl's contract on the trade market is the relative ease teams will have in matching his salary.
I do think other teams will be interested, but I don't believe there'd be anything like the bidding war some fans are assuming. But the Spurs can (and in my opinion should) completely reevaluate their roster and what their path toward compe iveness should be. In my opinion, it needs to involve aggressive trades, drafting a good player, signing a top free agent and then trading for the finishing piece. Clinging to low-ceiling guys just because they aren't awful won't get it done. Does that mean let guys go for nothing? No. It does mean not really thinking that keeping the players is a desirable outcome though. The Spurs should be looking to move on from Poeltl based on philosophy alone before even getting into the other stuff.