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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - It's unfair to say the Raptors struck out altogether on draft night, but it's hard to feel like they hit a home run either.

Toronto found itself in a rare, albeit uniquely fortunate situation heading into Thursday night's proceedings and the hope - both externally and within the organization - was that they could use it to make a big splash. After swindling the Knicks into giving up an unprotected pick for the diminishing asset that was Andrea Bargnani three years earlier, Masai Ujiri tried to work his magic again, this time coming up short. Perhaps it's fitting.

His preference was to parlay the fruits of that deal - the ninth-overall selection - into a veteran, a player that would step in and contribute right away, specifically a starting power forward, one that could help take them to the next level. He made no secret of it. The Raptors were open for business, but when push came to shove and without an offer to their liking they opted to play it safe, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, though it may be a tad disappointing.

Some will undoubtedly take that frustration out on their draftee, 7-foot centre Jakob Poeltl, which also isn't fair. At pick No. 9, this was not a reach. You shouldn't be having flashbacks to 2014 when Ujiri rolled the dice on Bruno Caboclo, a player most hadn't heard of. You shouldn't be getting Rafael Araujo deja vu. Poeltl was on the top-10 radar. He's a good player, an NBA ready player - relative to those that were still available after the projected top-8 went in order at least.

No, he's not going to be the starting power forward, but the odds of finding a player of that calibre using that pick, without any salary cap relief or much else to add it, were always slim. 

They tried. Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka was among the bigs they pursued, reportedly offering a package that included the ninth pick, but the Thunder wisely declined. Instead, they moved Ibaka, who is entering the final year of his deal, to Orlando for a haul that was centred around former second-overall pick and emerging two-way star Victor Oladipo - an offer the Raptors simply couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't have matched. Earlier in the day, Indiana's 20th pick went for Thaddeus Young and a day prior Utah's 12th pick landed them George Hill, but both of those deals saw the Pacers and Jazz absorb the contracts of those players, something the Raptors also could not have done.

"Masai was on the phone all day," head coach Dwane Casey said following the Raptors' pick of Poeltl. "I don't know how close things were. They did a lot of looking around, talking around as far as the pick was concerned but nothing developed. Luckily the guy that we wanted was there."

The Raptors got a good look at Poeltl last week when they worked him out in Buffalo. Issues with his student visa prevented him from coming to Canada - or, more specifically, from getting back. For a player of his age, 20, and at his size, Casey was especially impressed with his ability to run the floor.

"His foot speed is a little bit quicker than [Jonas Valanciunas'] at the same stage and that's what struck me doing the cone drills," he said. "It was huge as far as his speed and quickness. According to the scouts, they were telling me how persistent he was in running."

"He's legit," said Raptors' point guard Delon Wright, their first-round selection from last year and a college teammate of Poeltl at Utah. "On pick and rolls he rolls really hard. A lot of bigs don't always roll, you have to teach them pretty much. He came in rolling really hard and finishing with great hands."

The Austrian born big man is skilled for a 7-footer. Averaging 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a sophomore with the Utes last season, Poeltl is a crafty scorer around the bucket, shooting an impressive 64 per cent from the field. He can pass the ball and alter shots on defence, he's also quick enough to switch on pick and rolls and get out on stretch fours.

The intention, at least initially, is to have him step in and fill a void as the backup centre, a hole that hasn't yet opened up, not officially anyway. Bismack Biyombo will not be a Toronto Raptor next season and if the writing wasn't on the wall already, it became abundantly clear when the team used it's two first-rounders to add a contingency plan.

The Raptors are confident Poeltl can come off the bench and play behind Valanciunas right away while their 27th pick Pascal Siakam - a power forward that came play some at the centre position - shares a similar skill set to Biyombo.

"The league is going small and [Poeltl's] foot speed will hopefully translate to him being able to guard the guys on the perimeter," Casey said. "The game is changing and I think our roster last year really helped us with Bismack and hopefully this young man can come in and give us the same foot speed and quickness that give us the ability to switch in different situations."

Although the three-point shot was not part of his game in college, Poeltl has been working on expanding his range in the hopes of playing some at power forward in the NBA, something Casey says they'll experiment with in Summer League next month.

Poeltl may not be the big splash the Raptors were hoping to make and that their fan base was clamouring for, but he's a highly regarded prospect that addresses a need and can make an immediate impact. Maybe that's a win, maybe it's not, but it certainly shouldn't be considered a loss.