I have literally no idea of how many MPG Poeltl is getting right now - and I think any analysis of that, considering this is a
three-year deal that we're only 10 games into, is really premature. Both Jakob and the FO hinted that he'd be getting an expanded role after this season, and that LMA will be gone. Posters who dislike Poeltl will be in dismay - "MORE minutes, to that bum?!?" I know. But it's for that reason that I'm not too serious in criticizing his current play or minutes average. Way too soon for that, IMO at least. And as
rankingtear points out, he
did play the entire 4th today, and was quite solid (yeah, against a depleted Rockettes team, no need to say it). With the way LMA is trending downwards, I see many more 4th quarters being closed out by Jakob - if he can stay out of foul trouble, that is.
Also, I don't follow the players' salaries close enough to tell which players you're referencing (leave it to ST to make me feel like a casual when I know more about this damned team that most ing fans
); but in any case, that's not really a problem to do with Poeltl's contract per se, is it? More like a FO problem with handing out large contracts to vets ('cause I'm certain those are vets' salaries you're pointing out). To answer you, I don't think Mills is on the team after next season at all, so that's one less problem - neither Rudy, with the way he's playing, nor LMA, for the same reason. DDR is a tossup, sadly, since I want him the gone..... But again, not related to Jakob's deal.
That's been my point from the beginning. $9M is not an overpay for a player of Jakob's caliber (and to once again make it clear, he has NOT been playing up to his "caliber" this season, and I could find myself agreeing with your take a year from now if he keeps up the ty play); center backups are cheap, but most don't provide the elite defense and screen-setting that Jak does, which is really valuable for a guard-heavy team like the Spurs. Ideally, we sign a Jarret Allen-like starting C next season, who can finish lobs and be a scoring threat on top of rebounding, and leave Jakob to power up a defensive-minded bench. We'll see whether Spurs FO agrees with my plans or not, I guess.