Latest on a Potential Jakob Poeltl Trade
You might want to tap the breaks on any Jakob Poeltl trade talk — if not stop the car entirely and put it in park.
There was the sense when San Antonio traded away Dejounte Murray for Danilo Gallinari (since waived), three first-round picks and a potential pick swap that the club is going for a severe tear-down and rebuild. Teams have come knocking at the Spurs’ door looking to acquire present talent for future reward (first round picks and developmental pieces).
But those teams have found the door isn’t quite as open as they may expect — particularly when it comes to the 7-1 Poeltl, who truly came into his own this year, averaging 13.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in a relatively modest 29.0 minutes per game.
One general manager told Heavy Sports, “The sense we got is that, yes, they’re rebuilding, but they don’t want to burn the thing to the ground and start from there. Poeltl’s the kind of guy that can give them a solid presence inside and make things better from a compe ive standpoint when you’re trying to develop the guys who are going to be out there with him.”
There’s also the fact that Poeltl is 26 and is himself still developing. The Spurs would obviously not want to see him grow into something even more prominent elsewhere.
“We looked into it,” another league exec said. “The sense we got is that they ain’t moving him.”
Which isn’t to say that San Antonio wouldn’t deal Poeltl for the right price. It’s just that said price would have to be quite high.
Teams were interested in Poeltl at this past February’s in-season trade deadline, but found a heavy ask from the Spurs in the range of a rotation player and a first round pick.
Considering Poeltl’s averages improved after the deadline to 14.2 points on 62.7 percent shooting and 9.9 rebounds (in 29.3 minutes), the ask is presumably even higher now.