TORONTO — This is not the Toronto Raptors club with which Jakob Poeltl re-signed during the offseason. He’s okay with it.
Poeltl was traded back to Toronto before last season’s NBA deadline, and the center re-signed with the Raptors in the off-season while point guard Fred VanVleet was still expected to re-sign with the team.
Since then, VanVleet has joined the Houston Rockets, veteran defender OG Anunoby has been traded to the New York Knicks, and all-star Pascal Siakam, Poeltl’s best friend in Toronto, has been sent to the Indiana Pacers.
Although losing VanVleet, Anunoby, and Siakam certainly means the Raptors will miss the playoffs, Poeltl is fine with the upheaval as long as Toronto plays competitive basketball.
“As long as it isn’t a team deliberately trying to tank, that’s all that matters to me. “I want to play for a team that wants to win every night,” Poeltl said after practice at the OVO Athletic Centre on Thursday. “Even though we made some adjustments and lost some really talented players, I believe we’re still on a path where we’re trying to build around this squad right now and aren’t looking for the No. 1 overall pick.
“As long as that’s the case, I think I’m going to be happy here and I’m hoping to contribute to this new kind of Raptors team, this new project that we’re starting.”
Siakam’s departure was the most difficult for Poeltl emotionally.
Toronto chose the two in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft, and they played together on the Raptors’ development squad during their rookie contracts.
When Siakam was dealt to Indiana on January 17, Poeltl was one of the first people he spoke with, and they’ve talked again since. According to Poeltl, Siakam appeared “pretty happy” upon his arrival at Indiana.
“I was mentally prepared for it a little bit already, just because there were so many rumours, I knew it was a possibility,” said Poeltl, who was moved by the Raptors to San Antonio in 2018, only to return to Toronto last season. “It didn’t come out of nowhere, I suppose. That made things a little simpler.
“It’s still really sad for me to lose my best friend on the team.”
Poeltl was not on the Raptors’ active roster when Siakam was moved. The 28-year-old Austrian has been out with an ankle injury since Jan. 7, when he stepped on Siakam’s foot during a game at Golden State versus the Warriors.
Poeltl has averaging 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 36 games this season. Porter is averaging 4.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 11 games with the Raptors this season, although he has only played 22 NBA games in his career.
Toronto has gone 1-7 in the eight games since Poeltl’s injury.
“I’d have to write a book to write down all the things I’ve learned in this short period of time,” Porter remarked. “Every game, every matchup, I feel like I’m learning something new.
Poeltl has an average of 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 36 games this season. Porter is averaging 4.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 11 games for the Raptors this season, despite having only played 22 NBA games in his career.
Toronto has gone 1-7 in its eight games since Poeltl’s injury.
“I’d have to write a book to write down all the things I’ve learned in this short period of time,” Porter said. “I feel like I am learning something new with each game and matchup.
“A lot of the times it’s from mistakes I’m making, which, you know, it sucks to make mistakes, but at the same time you’re learning from those to not make those mistakes again in the future.”
Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley is poised to join Poeltl on Toronto’s inactive list against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
According to head coach Darko Rajakovic, Quickley has a right thigh injury that has worsened since Monday’s 108-100 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
“We decided it’s for the best for him not to practice today and we’re just going to be evaluating him day by day,” Rajakovic added. “He’s coming with us on this road trip (that starts Sunday), we’ll just see when he is going to be able to join us.”
Quickley has averaged 16.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in 12 games with the Raptors since being acquired on December 30 in the trade that sent Anunoby to the Knicks.
