Spurs' Jakob Poeltl Drawing 'Significant' Trade Interest
The San Antonio Spurs are among the various NBA teams that will be monitored as possible sellers ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. Atop the list of trade candidates drawing interest from around the league is Jakob Poeltl.
Poeltl, 27. is playing in the final season of his current contract — making him a natural trade candidate for a rebuilding Spurs organization. He's averaging 11.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game this season.
Poeltl is considered to be one of the more fundamentally sound defensive anchors and screening bigs in the NBA. He's taken on more of a playmaking hub role following the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks before the season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on NBA Countdown Saturday that Poeltl is commanding "a lot of interest" around the NBA. With the prized draft prospect of the 2023 class, Victor Wembenyama, being a clean fit next to Poeltl, there isn't much incentive to move Poeltl to make a trade.
“There’s a lot of interest in Poeltl, and there are a lot of teams, I think, for San Antonio, they’re going to make the kind of offers that they may want to move him…
“But if you’re San Antonio and you win the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, he makes perfect sense in the middle with Wembayama at the four. So I think for San Antonio, you saw him do it with Dejounte Murray… They got an overwhelming offer from Atlanta, they moved him. I think you’re going to see at the trade deadline some real significant offers. A lot of teams want size.”
While the Spurs currently do not hold the title of being the NBA's worst team right now, they just need to finish with a bottom three record to be tied for the top odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. They are 13-30, which is better than only the Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, and Charlotte Hornets.
If the Spurs do feel they could benefit their race to the bottom by trading Poeltl, perhaps it's worth considering to ensure their ideal positioning to land a prospect considered to be a transcendent talent.
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