SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs will reportedly trade center Jakob Poeltl to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Khem Birch and several draft picks.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 27-year-old Austrian center will return to the team that drafted him in exchange for a protected 2024 first rounder and two future second-round picks. Poeltl's contract expires at the end of this season, but Woj expects Toronto to re-sign him, and expects the Spurs to keep wheeling and dealing in pursuit of draft capital.
Poeltl came over in the Kawhi Leonard trade, and after an amount of roster turnover that's unprecedented in the Gregg Popovich era he was the longest tenured Spur this season. Pop even compared his veteran presence and leadership to that of Tim Duncan before the season began.
"He's been so consistent, he's such a pro. He does his work night in and night out. Every practice, every shoot around, every game, we all know that," Pop said on media day. "He's a great base. For us, for our group right now, he's what Timmy was during those championship years. A lot of stuff comes from this example on the court, just the way he conducts himself."
Poeltl's leadership, defense, dirty work and steady production will be missed by fans and his young teammates in San Antonio. He was averaging 12.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals per game, and did all the little things on the court. His screens opened up a lot of opportunities for the Spurs' developing playmakers, and his ability to protect the rim provided some relief in a defense that has struggled mightily this season.
The Spurs are 14-41 after losing their tenth game in a row. They are focusing on young talent and a trove of draft picks that GM Brian Wright has grown steadily by trading a number of talented players over the past several seasons. DeMar DeRozan, Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Thad Young, and now Poeltl have returned seven first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, and four second-round picks.
The protections on Toronto's 2024 first-round pick weren't immediately apparent because the nuclear Woj Bomb that Kevin Durant will be heading to the Phoenix Suns dropped shortly after and wiped everything else off the map for a while. When the dust settled on Thursday, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that the pick is protected 1-6 in 2024, 2025 and 2026. In plain English, the Spurs will get the pick next year unless the Raptors stumble into a top-6 pick. If that happens, it becomes Toronto's 2025 first-rounder with the same protection, and so on.
ESPN's Bobby Marks reports that the Spurs now have $25.6 million in cap space.
Khem Birch is 30-year-old wing and hasn't played for the Raptors since December. He could stick around, but San Antonio may buy him out.
"The Spurs are running it up on young players and draft capital now, with 13 first-round picks secured through 2029 --- and the expectation that they'll gather even more between now and the 3 PM ET trade deadline later today,"Wojnarowski said.
The most valuable of those picks could turn out to be their own for this upcoming season, when they'll have decent odds at a franchise-altering talent at or near of the draft.
As far as other Spurs who could be traded, Josh Richardson seems to be a prime candidate. The 29-year-old shooting guard is also on an expiring contract, and could provide valuable shooting and veteran leadership for a team looking to make a push. Those same qualities make Doug McDermott attractive for those teams, and his contract lasts through the end of next season.
This is a developing story.