Jakob Poeltl Injury Update Draws Attention to Toronto Raptors Training Camp

The Toronto Raptors are just five days away from starting their training camp in Quebec City. The vibe is different than the past few years, as with seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard back in the building, everyone knows it’s go time. For the most part, the roster is complete and ready to work towards proving they are a championship-caliber team as soon as their first regular-season game arrives against the Chicago Bulls on October 21st. 

While the majority of the offseason news in Toronto focused on the two-and-a-half-month process of completing the trade for Leonard, it’s time to take a closer look at the roster. Specifically, the three starters alongside Leonard and franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes seem to be in the final stretch to prove they can contribute to the franchise’s ultimate goal of winning a second championship. RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, and Immanuel Quickley have all been tied to different trade rumors since the midseason deadline in early February, largely because of their head-tilting contracts. 

For the Austrian big man in particular, fans were immediately skeptical when news broke that general manager Bobby Webster signed him to a 3-year, $84.1 million extension last summer. He wasn’t able to emphatically prove his worth last year after suffering a lower back strain that forced him to sit out 24 straight games in the middle of the season. He never truly returned with the same level of physicality or aggression that earned him minutes in the starting lineup, which was detrimental to Toronto’s ability to overcome the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. 

Heading into this season, he needs to get off to a hot start and prove that he is back to his healthy self; otherwise, he could be moved before the trade deadline. In the first of many interviews leading into media day and training camp, Webster detailed Poeltl’s injury status and how the team feels about him moving forward. 

“Jak[ob] looks good,” said Webster. “Time will tell as we ramp up to training camp, but you’ll see he’s [in] good spirits [and] good shape … going home is good for anyone, and I think he’s come back with a motivation and willingness to keep his body as healthy as he possibly can.”

Poeltl has been slandered extensively over the past year because of the contract and injury. So much so that fans are forgetting just how impactful he was to the Raptors before getting injured. The former No. 9 pick in the 2016 NBA draft is exactly the enforcer that Toronto needs in terms of a paint presence on both ends of the floor. 

Scoring easy baskets after being found by the playmakers, attacking the offensive glass to create second-chance opportunities, and being a physical screener are all key qualities he possessed before the injury and will need to retain if the Raptors have any chance of winning important games with him on the floor. Simply put, he’s being paid too much money not to be a top-15 center in the NBA, and now that he has reportedly regained his health and passion, it’s time for him to prove it.