Jakob Poeltl might not have been the headliner in last month's trade involving Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, but he is certainly a prized possession for Pop and this Spurs organization.
The Utah product is entering his third season in the league and showed tremendous strides from year one to year two. Almost all of his statistics increased for the better including points per game, rebounds per game and field goal percentage.
Poeltl admits he was surprised by the trade to San Antonio, but he's excited to join such a highly respected organization.
"Obviously in Toronto we didn't have (championship) banners like that. This program has some tradition to it over the what? Twenty-plus years?" Poeltl said. "It's been a great basketball team and you can tell by the championships and all the accomplishments. It's a little bit of pressure. We're trying to live up to a very high standard here."
Poeltl also knows how great of a player San Antonio received in DeRozan.
"It's a little bit scary, to be honest," Poeltl laughed. "I know what he can do when he has that chip on his shoulder. The extra motivation. He's really good at making reads now and taking over a game...he can scored 30 or 40 points and than have games where he'd do a really good job when defenses adjust to him finding his teammates. That's his biggest strength."
Poeltl is most excited to learn from fellow forward Pau Gasol. He says Gasol is similarly an International product and can learn so much from the 19-year veteran. He also said Tim Duncan is around all the time and he plans to pick his mind in due time.
San Antonio is hoping this budding prospect spurts into something special as the Spurs have his rights through the 2020-2021 season.