Raptors extend Poeltl, solidify centre position early in free agency

TORONTO – This Raptors front office has always understood the value of Jakob Poeltl and that hasn’t changed, even without the man in charge.

They made the Austrian centre the ninth-overall pick in the 2016 draft, reluctantly included him in the trade that brought Kawhi Leonard to Toronto and then reacquired him from San Antonio five years later. All the while, now former team president Masai Ujiri was one of his most ardent supporters, famously referring to the 7-footer as a top 10 centre following the 2022-23 campaign.

If there was any doubt how Ujiri felt about Poeltl, he made it clear in his final few months on the job.

Poeltl was highly coveted ahead of last February’s trade deadline, with multiple teams – most notably the Lakers – checking in and quickly being turned away. He was considered off limits in recent talks with the Phoenix Suns, centred on Kevin Durant. Putting together a compelling offer or even making the math work was always going to be tricky without Poeltl and his contract in the mix, but the Raptors were steadfast; the veteran big man was not available.

In his first order of business as the club’s primary decision maker, general manager Bobby Webster – Ujiri’s long-time top lieutenant – brokered the deal that will keep Poeltl in Toronto through the 2029-30 season. The four-year contract extension, initially reported by ESPN and confirmed by league sources, is worth $104 million and will see Poeltl pick up his $19.5 million player option for 2026-27. According to a source, the final year is partially guaranteed.

While the framework needed to be ironed out and didn’t come together until after the negotiation window opened Monday evening, an extension between Poeltl and the Raptors was widely considered to be inevitable long before Ujiri’s untimely firing last week.

Poeltl, 29, has embraced his role as the veteran leader on a young, rebuilding team, and despite his reservations, was a good soldier when they asked him to sit out and help improve their draft positioning late last season. The sense, when he missed 12 of the team’s final 20 games for rest, was that he and his representatives would have required some long-term assurances.

Clearly, there was good will on both sides. With the Raptors already hovering around the luxury tax line for next season, Poeltl did them a solid by picking up his player option and giving them some roster flexibility over the next couple seasons before his raise kicks in ahead of the 2027-28 campaign. That the final year of the deal, when he’ll be owed nearly $30 million, is only partially guaranteed also favours the team. 

Some will still balk at the sight of a $104 million figure for a traditional big man, who doesn’t shoot, isn’t considered a star, and will turn 30 in October, but that’s why Poeltl remains one of the league’s most underrated players.

While he’s not a floor spacer – he’s attempted seven three-pointers in nine NBA seasons – he does almost everything else on both ends of the floor and does it all well. The Raptors play through him on the low block, where he’s an excellent passer. He sets hard screens and is one of the league’s most efficient finishers around the bucket – he’s one of three players to shoot at least 60 per cent from the field in each of the past eight years. He isn’t a prototypical rim protector but makes up for it with great footwork, positioning, and defensive instincts. 

He's not Toronto’s best player, to be sure, but he has been its most irreplaceable, though some of that is a function of roster construction. After backup Kelly Olynyk was traded at the deadline, the Raptors filled the minutes behind Poeltl with a rotating collection of big men on two-way or 10-day contracts. It’s not like they were world-beaters with their starting centre, but they’ve been downright awful without him.

Over the past two seasons, they went 42-65 (.393) with Poeltl in the lineup and were outscored by 54 points with him on the floor. In that span, they went 13-44 (.228) without him in the lineup and were outscored by 826 points without him on the floor.

It’s why the Raptors went into this offseason prioritizing depth and versatility at the centre position, things that they’ve lacked in recent years. In addition to the extension for Poeltl, Toronto added veteran Sandro Mamukelashvili on a two-year $5.5 million deal (the second year is a player option, according to ESPN, who reported the signing).

Mamukelashvili has spent time with Milwaukee and San Antonio during his four seasons in the NBA. The 6-foot-11 former second-round pick averaged 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11 minutes per contest over 61 games with the Spurs last season. On a per 36-minute basis, those numbers look as follows: 20.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 block. He’s shown flashes before, most notably during an unlikely 34-point game against the New York Knicks last March (he did it on 14 shots in just 19 minutes). At 26, it will be interesting to see what he can do with a bigger opportunity in a Darko Rajakovic system that should be well suited to his skill set.

The Georgian-American big man shot 37 per cent on a career-high 161 three-point attempts last season; he went 7-for-7 on that memorable night against the Knicks. His ability to space the floor should give the Raptors a different dynamic when Poeltl goes to the bench. Collin Murray-Boyles, the ninth-overall pick in last week’s draft, is undersized for the position and will be eased in as a rookie, but he’s strong and versatile enough to defend some opposing centres and could eventually be another option for Rajakovic.

Barring a trade, Tuesday’s business could be the beginning and the end of the Raptors’ offseason shopping. After the signings of Mamukelashvili and 39-year-old Garrett Temple, who is returning for his 16th NBA campaign, they will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts for next season. Sharpshooter Jamison Battle, a standout as a rookie last year, will become fully guaranteed if he isn’t waived by July 9 and is a safe bet to stick around. If they fill the 15th and final roster spot, fiery guard Alijah Martin, the 39th pick in last week’s draft, figures to be the frontrunner. 

They’re projected to be slightly over the tax line – an expensive roster for a team that, as currently constructed, will likely compete for a play-in spot in the weakened Eastern Conference, but it’s worth noting that tax isn’t charged until after Game 82. They could go into the season, see how this group looks, and then shed some salary before the trade deadline if needed.

With the exception of MLSE’s ongoing search for a new team president, this could be a quiet summer, but after the way last week went, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Raptors weren’t the ones making big flashy headlines when free agency opened Monday evening. Milwaukee shook up its roster, Denver got deeper, and reining MVP and NBA champ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed the richest deal in league history.

When the dust settles on another chaotic NBA offseason, the Poeltl extension will almost certainly be an afterthought around the Association. It will fly under the radar, like it did when the Raptors drafted him, traded for him, or re-signed him in the summer of 2023. That’s fine. It was some good business for an organization that could use some stability and that’s exactly what Poeltl brings.

After missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, the Raptors expect to take a step forward and believe that Poeltl will be instrumental in helping them do it. That was Ujiri’s vision, and it lives on with Webster, at least for now.