The Toronto Raptors re-signed centre Jakob Poeltl to a four-year, $80-million deal this past summer.
Toronto acquired Poeltl at last years NBA Trade Deadline from the San Antonio Spurs.
Poeltl is a solid rebounder, shot-blocker and passer. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has already come out and said that he wants Poeltl to be more involved in the offense this season.
With Rajakovic’s new 0.5 offense being implemented, Poeltl will get a lot more touches.
Rajakovic is high on Poeltl going into this season giving him a generous comparison to Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis:
“I think Jakob has the potential to do a lot of stuff that (Domantas) Sabonis is doing. And I think Jakob is doing it kind of in a different way. Obviously, he’s bringing more length there than Sabonis does…To a certain degree, there is a connection there.”
Poeltl isn’t going to become the offensive threat or All-Star that Domantas Sabonis is, but he can impact games with his strong defense and rebounding. Poeltl is also an underrated passer.
He struggled in his preseason debut against the Kings, but it’ll take some time for Poeltl to learn another new offense. Poeltl has now played for three different head coaches in the span of 10 months.
Poeltl should have his best season yet, especially if he’s featured more in Darko Rajakovic’s new offense.
If Poeltl can give the Raptors even a fraction of Sabonis’ production on a nightly basis then the Raptors will climb up the standings.
Rajakovic wants to run a 10-man rotation
Unlike last season, it appears the Raptors are going to use more players in their rotation. Rajakovic made it clear that he likes having 10 guys available every single night.
Rajakovic wants more players playing less minutes per game so that way they can be ready to play over the long season.
The Raptors 10-man rotation seems clear, but they might have to make a tough decision regarding their rookie Gradey Dick.
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