Now in his ninth season in the NBA, Toronto Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl is in the midst of a career year. Through 49 games, he is averaging 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks. Furthermore, he is shooting 61.2% from the field. Despite being a potential trade candidate this season, the Raptors chose to keep the Austrian native around. Poeltl has two years remaining on his contract, including a $19.5 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Still, he has already made it clear what he wants his future to hold.
In a recent interview with SportsNet’s Michael Grange, the 29-year-old called Toronto his “home” and would like to remain with the team for the long haul.
“I haven’t given (my contract) any thought, like, those conversations are gonna start coming once the season ends, and I’m assuming pretty quickly after the season ends,” he said. “I haven’t had any conversations yet. But big picture, I mean, for sure … I’ve bought into this process and I’ve kind of gone through the tough times already. So, this is my home right now and I really hope it’s gonna be in the future as well.”
Poeltl was initially drafted by the Raptors with the No. 9 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. After two seasons with the team, the Raptors traded him to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the Kawhi Leonard–DeMar DeRozan swap. The Spurs traded him back to Toronto in 2023, where he has been ever since.
Raptors Starter Reveals Major Future Plans in Toronto
Jakob Poeltl is a Fan of the Raptors’ Recent Major Trade
Ahead of last month’s trade deadline, the Raptors acquired one-time All-Star Brandon Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans. He has yet to make his debut with the team, but many are excited to see him suit up. This includes Poeltl, who made it clear that he liked the trade.
“I thought was really cool,” Poeltl said Tuesday as he looked at Ingram finish up with Raptors assistant coach Pat Delaney. “And (the trade) just kind of followed up on what they’ve been talking about, well, really, for the past year, year and a half, which is like, ‘No, we don’t want to tank and go through the draft.’ They wanted to get back to winning quickly. Obviously. Yes, you got to try and build up a new team. You got to build on some young guys, and you got to go through some more difficult times, but they’ve always communicated that they want to be aggressive, making moves like that. And so, yeah, I think it’s really good, and it’s good for us as a team.”
While this move will not make the Raptors title contenders, it is still interesting nonetheless. Pairing Ingram alongside Scottie Barnes is very intriguing. Currently, the Raptors are 20-42 and own the No. 13 seed in the East. Still, they have a lot of young talent and have the makings of a good NBA team. This season may be over for them, but there is a lot of potential for Toronto next year.
Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
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