"We've not been shy here at Raptors Rapture highlighting the mistakes made by Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster both when it comes to Jakob Poeltl. They traded for him to make a low-ceiling run at the playoffs, giving up the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft in the process. This past summer, they compounded the error by giving him an unneccessary and lucrative contract extension that will pay him like a Top-15 center until he can earn AARP. He's not even a Top-15 now."
"First, the league appears to view Poeltl's contract situation as overall negative value. While Poeltl is still a useful, low-end starting center, he is being paid like a much better player -- and, perhaps most importantly, he is under contract for a long time. Any team trading for him is clogging their books with his contract for another four seasons. That's a death sentence in the modern NBA landscape of tax aprons and hard caps."
Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster traded for Jakob Poeltl, surrendering the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft to chase a low-ceiling playoff push. The Raptors then gave Poeltl a lucrative, long-term extension that pays like a Top-15 center despite his current level. The team is now exploring trades to upgrade at center and has been linked to Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. Poeltl's contract is widely viewed as negative value because of salary and remaining term, and any trade would burden a team with long-term cap and tax consequences. The combination of cap drag and pursuit of expensive players with issues risks another front-office misstep.
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