Basketball: Pöltl returns to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA

The Spurs officially announced this on Thursday. The 27-year-old Viennese had already played for Toronto from 2016 to 2018 at the beginning of his career in the world’s strongest basketball league before the Canadians gave him to San Antonio.

ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, an expert on transfers in the NBA, first reported on the deal on Thursday night (local time). The Spurs also get a protected first-round draft pick in 2024, as well as second-round picks in 2023 and 2025 for their center, alongside backup player Khem Birch. Toronto picked Pöltl ninth in the 2016 NBA draft. He knows head coach Nick Nurse well, having been an assistant coach with the Raptors in his early years.

Under Nurse and with the star Kawhi Leonard, who was signed in exchange for Pöltl, Toronto won the only championship title in the club’s history in 2019. As tenth in the Eastern Conference, the Canadians are still fighting for the playoffs. The team could change further until the transfer deadline on Thursday evening (9:00 p.m. CET), including Pöltl’s good friend Pascal Siakam, Toronto’s best scorer and rebounder, who is in great demand.

According to Pöltl, he has always felt very comfortable in Toronto. The Raptors should therefore have hopes that the Austrian will extend his three-year contract with them, which expires in the summer and was worth $ 9.4 million (EUR 8.76 million) for last season, otherwise they would not have had so many drafts – Rights abandoned for him. Pöltl can choose his employer himself in the summer. The US media recently put around 20 million dollars (18.6 million euros) annually into play as a possible size of a new contract.

Because the Spurs competed with the Raptors on Wednesday (local time) as part of a longer away tour, Pöltl is already in Toronto with his hand luggage. His ex-team conceded their tenth defeat in a row at their future employer with 98:112 and will almost certainly miss the play-offs. In his last game for San Antonio, Pöltl recorded twelve points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 27:49 minutes on the floor.

Pöltl played 326 games for Spurs and averaged 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 blocks. He ranks in the top ten in the league for rebounds and offensive rebounds this season. The Spurs continue on Friday with the Detroit Pistons. The Raptors will also host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night (1:30 a.m. CET) and Detroit on Sunday (9:00 p.m. CET). It was initially unclear when Pöltl would make his debut for his old and new club.