The Los Angeles Lakers don’t appear to be targeting Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl ahead of the trade deadline.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Poeltl or Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic:
“League sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vucevic or Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl…while oft-suggested Lakers target Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET.”
The Bulls are expected to be seeking first-round pick compensation for Vucevic. Meanwhile, the Raptors asking price for Poeltl is reportedly “even richer,” according to Stein.
It seems like the Raptors are leaning towards keeping Poeltl past the deadline as they look to be competitive next season. The Raptors have reportedly “resisted mounting trade interest” in Poeltl, Stein reported earlier this month.
If the Raptors were to trade Poeltl, it would be difficult to replace him. Also, the Raptors had to pay a steep price to acquire him, so they wouldn’t give him up for cheap.
Poeltl has been an important piece for the Raptors and he is in the middle of a career-best season. He’s averaging 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while helping the Raptors’ improved defensive play. Poeltl impacts the Raptors in more ways than one and this is evident in the team going 4–33 in games without him over the past two seasons. He’s arguably the team’s most valuable player for how he impacts the game on both ends.
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