At the time, it felt harmless. The Toronto Raptors brought Jakob Poeltl back after his stint with the San Antonio Spurs. Familiar face. Solid center. Adult in the room. Now? It looks like one of those “what were we thinking?” moves that ages worse every month.
Toronto gave up what became the eighth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to get him. Then they doubled down and handed him a contract that quietly boxed the franchise into a corner. That pick didn’t just disappear into the void. It turned into real leverage elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Raptors got… stability.
And stability is not the same thing as upside.
The Toronto Raptors paid real assets for average
No disrespect to Poeltl. He rebounds. He sets screens. He protects the rim decently. He does center things. But he does not change a franchise. The Raptors did not trade for a difference-maker. They traded for safe. Then they paid safe like it was foundational.
Jakob Poeltl signed a 3 year, $84,084,000 contract with the Toronto Raptors, including $61,784,000 guaranteed, and anaverage annual salary of $28,028,000 - that is no pocket change. In today’s NBA, that is dangerous. Especially when your team is not a contender and not rebuilding properly either. You gave up a premium draft asset for a middle-of-the-pack starter. That is tough.
The doors that closed for the Toronto Raptors
Here’s the part that stings. That contract and lost draft flexibility made bigger swings almost impossible. Players like Jaren Jackson Jr. or Domantas Sabonis require maneuverability. Cap space. Assets. Aggression. Toronto had neither.
Both players were on the table during the trade deadline, but Toronto could not be found at the table. Instead of positioning themselves for a major frontcourt upgrade, they locked into a player who raises the floor slightly but caps the ceiling. That is how you end up stuck in the NBA’s worst place: too good to tank, too limited to contend.
Meanwhile, the other teams in the NBA keep winning
The asset Toronto gave up turned into flexibility elsewhere. It helped fuel a bigger move. It accelerated another franchise’s timeline. Spurs are going for a championship run next to De'Aaron Fox, who was part of the longer trade chain. Utah is building a contender around Lauri Markkanen, getting Ace Bayley and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Raptors? They are still figuring out theirs. This is not about blaming one player. It is about timing. When you are in transition, you cannot afford to trade high-upside picks for comfort. You either swing big or reset fully. Toronto tried to split the difference.
Now they are watching the ripple effects in real time. The Poeltl reunion was supposed to steady the ship. Instead, it may have anchored them exactly where they did not want to be. Newest rumours suggest the Raptors could save face by exploiting the bad situation in Memphis. They traded key pieces away and are now in need of a center. Could they make a push for Ja Morant?