Jakob Poeltl had a bit of a lost 2023-24 season for the Toronto Raptors. While he was one of the team’s best players early on, an injury to his ankle sidelined him 11 games, then it wasn’t long before a hand injury ended his season and caused him to miss the final 21 games. His 50 games played this season are the fewest of his career.
And with his injury, Poeltl had to sit on the sidelines and watch as his team’s season crumbled. The Raptors went an abysmal 4-28 without Poeltl in the lineup this season, going a much more respectable 21-29 when he did play. And while the Raptors certainly tried to get him back into the lineup, he simply ran out of time rehabbing a surgically-repaired hand.
The Raptors center spoke about what the recovery process has been like for him and how he’s progressing now even with the 2023-24 season concluded, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg:
“Recovery has been going well but at the same time it’s definitely been a frustrating process for me. Us not playing well during those times and then being stuck on the sidelines was frustrating.”
Poeltl also said that he is still working to get full range of motion back into his hand and has no plans to rush his recovery now that the season is over. He’s going to take things slow and only start ramping up once he’s been medically cleared to do so, meaning he won’t have quite a full offseason of training, but should be close to it.
The Raptors have a decision to make with Poeltl as well. If the Raptors do end up keeping their top-six protected draft pick, they have three picks in the top 31, and could use one of those on a young center as part of their rebuild. Trading Poeltl could be a legitimate consideration this offseason if Toronto wants to expedite their process and start over with a younger core.
Immanuel Quickley discusses free agency with Raptors
The Raptors acquired Immanuel Quickley along with RJ Barrett and a 2024 second-round pick (via Detroit) from the New York Knicks in exchange for O.G. Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn in December.
Quickley immediately made his mark on the Raptors and showed why he is the point guard of the future. He is eligible for a five-year extension and it is likely to be around $150 million. As Michael Grange reports it could be for as much as $204.5 million if the Raptors wanted to offer Quickley the maximum he is eligible for.
Since Quickley is a restricted free agent, the Raptors can match any offer that comes his way. Quickley made it clear that he loves being in Toronto.
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