<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-darko-rajakovic-admits-jakob-poeltl-is-not-himself-yet-amid-recovery');   ga('set', 'title', 'Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic admits Jakob Poeltl is ‘not himself yet’ amid recovery');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Raptors-center-Jakob-Poeltl-19-drives-to-the-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic admits Jakob Poeltl is ‘not himself yet’ amid recovery</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T23:25:35-08:00">December 9th, 11:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T23:25:35-08:00">December 9th, 11:25pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-darko-rajakovic-jakob-poeltl-recapture-rhythm">Toronto Raptors are being peppered with allegations of fraudulence</a> amid their rough stretch following a torrid start to the 2025-26 season. On Tuesday night, the Raptors bowed out of NBA Cup contention after suffering a 117-101 loss to the New York Knicks in the quarterfinals of the competition. This was their fourth defeat in a row, and they are now 15-11 on the season.</p><p>Of course, it’s important to note that the Raptors have been experiencing some injury troubles as of late. They were <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-immanuel-quickley-added-nba-cup-injury-report-vs-knicks">without Immanuel Quickley on Tuesday night</a> against the Knicks in addition to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-rj-barrett-miss-nba-cup-game-knicks-knee-injection">absence of RJ Barrett</a>, who’s been absent for the past nine games. But what shouldn’t go unnoticed is how Jakob Poeltl has been battling back injury issues all season long, which has required Toronto to rest him for one game of back-to-back sets.</p><p>Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic pointed out that Poeltl <a href="https://twitter.com/OmerOsman200/status/1998621031330725959?s=20" rel="noopener">isn’t quite 100 percent</a> yet and it will take some time before he is.</p><p>“He definitely does not have rhythm. He’s not himself yet,” Rajakovic said following the Raptors’ loss to the Knicks. “Hopefully the next couple of days are going to allow him and everybody on the team to bounce back and recover.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Darko on Jakob Pöltl:</p><p>“He definitely does not have rhythm. He’s not himself yet.”</p><p>“Hopefully the next couple of days are going to allow him and everybody on the team to bounce back and recover.”</p><p>“We’ll have some really good practices coming, and hopefully that gives us some… <a href="https://t.co/vv9vrotjl3">https://t.co/vv9vrotjl3</a> <a href="https://t.co/JGPWmmgVjC">pic.twitter.com/JGPWmmgVjC</a></p><p>— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmerOsman200/status/1998621031330725959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Raptors’ young guys have to step up</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_0347.jpeg"><figcaption>David Leong-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Brandon Ingram tried his best to carry the Raptors on Tuesday night, scoring 31 points on the night, but he did not have much help in their blowout loss to the Knicks. With Barrett and Quickley out, the Raptors did not have much in the way of perimeter shot-creation, and that became their undoing.</p><p>The Raptors, however, have some players who could step up. Jamal Shead performed admirably in a spot start for Quickley, but the likes of Ja’Kobe Walter, Gradey Dick, and Ochai Agbaji have to be better in providing support for Ingram and Scottie Barnes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic admits Jakob Poeltl is ‘not himself yet’ amid recovery

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-darko-rajakovic-jakob-poeltl-recapture-rhythm');   ga('set', 'title', 'Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic breaks down how Jakob Poeltl can recapture rhythm');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Darko-Rajakovic.jpg"><figcaption>John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic breaks down how Jakob Poeltl can recapture rhythm</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T22:24:11-08:00">December 9th, 10:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T22:24:11-08:00">December 9th, 10:24pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor, NFL and NCAA Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Toronto Raptors have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA so far this season, but they ran into an issue of class on Tuesday night. Despite running the table in group play and earning a home game in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-denies-scottie-barnes-textbook-block">Raptors were blown out by the New York Knicks 117-101</a> as New York advanced to the semifinals in Las Vegas.</p><p>Toronto lacked impactful scoring from any one player in this game, including center Jakob Poeltl. The veteran big man scored efficiently, but got just seven shots up on his way to 10 points in 25 minutes.</p><p>When Poeltl is involved, it gives the Toronto offense an easy button that can help take some of the pressure off of some of the perimeter players. After the loss, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic pinpointed some ways that Poeltl can stay involved <a href="https://x.com/OmerOsman200/status/1998623638325547454" rel="noopener">without relying on the ball handlers</a> to get him the ball.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Darko on how Jak can regain his rhythm:</p><p>“I don’t think it’s a question of touching the ball more necessarily. It’s the rhythm to get a rebound, it’s the rhythm to not turn the ball over in transition.”</p><p>“The only way how you get through that is through work and by playing… <a href="https://t.co/cUMXNtWC4l">https://t.co/cUMXNtWC4l</a> <a href="https://t.co/kkiNeZYSrL">pic.twitter.com/kkiNeZYSrL</a></p><p>— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmerOsman200/status/1998623638325547454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I don’t think it’s a question of touching the ball more necessarily,” Rajakovic said. “It’s the rhythm to get a rebound, it’s the rhythm to not turn the ball over in transition. … The only way how you get through that is through work and by playing. He needs to play through some of those mistakes. I think he’s going to get back to being himself.”</p><p>Brandon Ingram led the Raptors with 31 points, nit no other Raptor hit the 20-point mark, which has been somewhat of a common theme in the games where Toronto has struggled to score. Against a Knicks team with a lot of talented individual defenders, you saw that become a challenge throughout the night.</p><p>On the other side, all five Knicks starters finished in double figures while Jordan Clarkson added 12 off the bench. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-response-vegas-gambling-question">Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 35 points</a> and the Knicks are moving on in large part because of his efforts.</p><p>While it’s certainly disappointing for the Raptors not to make it to Las Vegas, the NBA Cup and this season so far as a whole are still very promising for Toronto. At the moment, the Raptors are 13-11 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They look like a team that will be contending for a playoff spot for the rest of the season, and games like Tuesday’s can be a valuable learning experience for a young team getting its feet wet in a crowded conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic breaks down how Jakob Poeltl can recapture rhythm

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/toronto-raptors/grading-jakob-poeltls-104-million-raptors-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grading Jakob Poeltl’s $104 million Raptors contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Grading-Jakob-Poeltls-104-million-Raptors-contract-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>Grading Jakob Poeltl’s $104 million Raptors contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-03T22:06:58-07:00">July 3rd, 10:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-03T22:06:58-07:00">July 3rd, 10:06pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Toronto Raptors were much more competitive than their 50-win 2024-25 season would indicate. They would keep games close even against the best teams in the league, giving way to what some would call “ethical tanking”. In the end, they were rewarded with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-colin-murray-boyles-viral-moment-no-9-pick">promising prospect Collin Murray-Boyles for their troubles</a> — adding another quality young player to the Raptors’ growing core.</p><p>It appears as though the Raptors will be gunning for a playoff spot in the wide-open Eastern Conference in 2025, and their moves over the past year or so certainly suggest this inclination. They traded for Brandon Ingram in a buy-low move with the New Orleans Pelicans, and in the early goings of free agency, they agreed with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-toronto-jakob-poeltl-104-million-contract-extension">Jakob Poeltl on a new contract</a> that’s set to pay him $104 million from the 2026-27 campaign until 2029-30, with Toronto tacking on three additional years worth around $84 million to keep Poeltl for the long haul.</p><p>Considering the going rate for players of Poeltl’s caliber, did the Raptors overpay? Did they even need to pony up the huge sum of money to keep Poeltl when he had a player option worth $19 million for the 2026-27 season anyway?</p><h2><b>Did the Raptors jump the gun with Jakob Poeltl extension?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250320_tbs_hb4_386.jpg"><figcaption>John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Make no mistake about it, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-player-honest-toronto-tanking">Poeltl was quite impressive when he was active for the Raptors</a> this past season. He put up career-best stats of 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest, and he may have averaged a double-double if he was allowed by the Raptors to actually play his usual number of minutes instead of being held out of games to fight for better lottery odds.</p><p>While Toronto was not a good team with or without Poeltl, the 29-year-old center definitely made the team better. The Raptors were over six points better whenever Poeltl was on the court, according to PBP Stats, and that net rating is <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612761&amp;Season=2024-25&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1627751" rel="noopener">nothing to scoff at</a>. He is a defensive anchor, strong glass cleaner, and is fairly agile on the perimeter, which means he isn’t completely lost when switched out to a perimeter player.</p><p>Poeltl has also made plenty of strides as a playmaker, doing his job as a handoff machine to give the Raptors’ ballhandlers space to work with. There’s a reason why many contending teams have sought Poeltl’s services from the Raptors ever since they acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs in 2023.</p><p>The salary cap is rising fast, as it can increase up to a maximum of 10 percent from the previous year (this was what happened for this offseason). So by the time Poeltl’s exorbitant extension kicks in, it will take up a less portion of the team’s salary cap. Even then, the Raptors appear to have overpaid to keep him around; Poeltl will be 32 when he begins to make around $26 million a year, and in the final year of his contract (when he’ll be 34), he’ll be making around $30 million per year.</p><p>The Raptors could argue that this is <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/rankings/player/_/year/2025/position/c/sort/cap_total" rel="noopener">the going rate</a> for players of Poeltl’s caliber these days. Isaiah Hartenstein, notably, is set to make $28.5 million for this upcoming season, with a player option worth the same dollar amount for the 2026-27 campaign. Nicolas Claxton is making around $25 million this season, although his salary is front-loaded, which means that he’ll be making progressively less in the final two years of his deal.</p><p>The $104 million the Raptors signed Poeltl for is a similar amount for what the Milwaukee Bucks ended up snagging Myles Turner away from the Indiana Pacers for ($107 million). Even Naz Reid signed for a similar amount of money per year ($25 million average annual value across five years).</p><p>But unlike those players, Poeltl didn’t even reach free agency. The Raptors ended up outbidding themselves when a similar amount of money could have gotten a deal done in 2026, when Poeltl could have reached free agency by declining his player option.</p><p>Poeltl would’ve been perhaps the second-best or best center in the <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/_/year/2026/position/c" rel="noopener">unrestricted free-agent market</a> had he actually reached free agency in 2026. (Hartenstein could be a free agent as well, and it’s a toss-up as to who’s a better player between those two.)</p><p>Even then, it’s not like NBA teams are going to pay significantly more than what it required the Raptors to pony up to keep Poeltl, especially when he doesn’t provide any floor-spacing utility and would, most likely, be deployed situationally anyway in the hypothetical universe where the Raptors make it deep into the playoffs.</p><p>This contract extension, while a fair amount to keep Poeltl around, wasn’t quite necessary for the Raptors to offer yet. Perhaps they’re looking to protect the asset, but there’s a good chance they could be stuck with that contract for the next few years.</p><p><b>Grade: C+</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grading Jakob Poeltl’s $104 million Raptors contract extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-myles-turner-jakob-poeltl-moves-boston');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Myles Turner, Jakob Poeltl moves mean for Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jakob-Poeltl-Jayson-Tatum-and-Derrick-White.jpg"><figcaption>John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>What Myles Turner, Jakob Poeltl moves mean for Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-01T17:35:08-07:00">July 1st, 5:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-01T17:35:58-07:00">July 1st, 5:35pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The big man market was active on Tuesday, but the Boston Celtics couldn’t afford to join in on the center scramble. Instead, they had to watch the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/grading-myles-turners-107-million-bucks-contract-2025-nba-free-agency">Milwaukee Bucks land former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner</a> and witness the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-toronto-jakob-poeltl-104-million-contract-extension">Toronto Raptors re-sign Austrian 7-footer Jakob Poeltl</a>.</p><p>It’s no secret that the Celtics need help at the five spot after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-kristaps-porzingis-luke-kornet-securing-spurs-bag">losing centers Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet</a> this offseason. However, due to the financial restrictions of the CBA and the looming second apron, they can’t make a huge splash in free agency.</p><p>Turner and Poeltl’s new contracts highlight that dilemma, as they both agreed to four-year offers for $107 and $104 million, respectively. At the moment, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-luke-kornet-luka-garza-moves-highlight-bostons-new-cap-reality">the Celtics simply can’t compete with that kind of money</a>.</p><p>A large amount of their funds are tied up in hefty deals belonging to stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And even though Boston has tried to shed a ton of salary to start the 2025 offseason, it still finds itself just above the second apron.</p><p>The Celtics dipped under it after trading veteran guard Jrue Holiday and Porzingis, yet bringing in former Minnesota Timberwolves Luka Garza and Josh Minott — albeit on inexpensive contracts — put them back over.</p><p>Garza and Minott are far from household names in the NBA world, with both guys averaging under 10 minutes per game for their careers. They’re who Boston can afford though, leaving the Turners and Poeltls for the rest of the league.</p><h2><b>How the Celtics’ 2025-26 outlook has taken a turn for the worse</b></h2><p>Unfortunately for Boston, Turner and Poeltl stayed in an Eastern Conference that’s improving. To make matters worse, the C’s are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-going-hard-gym-achilles-rehab">without Tatum for the foreseeable future due to an Achilles rupture</a> and Brown is coming off a partial meniscus tear.</p><p>Those health issues, coupled with Boston’s financial woes, don’t make for a promising offseason outlook. Losing veteran big Al Horford would be another critical blow to the Celtics, and it’s seeming more and more likely due to the current price centers are going for and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-warriors-celtics-among-several-al-horford-suitors-in-free-agency">Horford’s plethora of suitors</a>.</p><p>If he does walk, the 2024 NBA champions are left with 25-year-old Neemias Queta, Garza, and rookie Amari Williams as their only true centers. And since Boston doesn’t have enough ammo to win a costly bidding war, it’ll have to pivot to the trade market.</p><p>Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has shown an uncanny ability to accomplish offseason stunners, so at least the C’s have the 2024 NBA Executive of the Year in their corner. Whether Boston strikes a deal for a center (perhaps ex-Celtic Robert Williams III) or finds one for a bargain (maybe unrestricted free agent Thomas Bryant) remains to be seen.</p><p>Either way, the Celtics aren’t finished mixing things up. They’ll just have to maneuver without much money in their pockets, which is a tall order in the second apron’s era of big contracts and little wiggle room.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Myles Turner, Jakob Poeltl moves mean for Celtics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-toronto-jakob-poeltl-104-million-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Raptors, Jakob Poeltl agree on $104 million contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_1347.jpeg"><figcaption>Mike Watters-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Raptors, Jakob Poeltl agree on $104 million contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-01T11:50:05-07:00">July 1st, 11:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-01T12:08:19-07:00">July 1st, 12:08pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jakob Poeltl will <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/raptors-rumors-toronto-unwilling-include-jakob-poeltl-kevin-durant-trade">remain with the Toronto Raptors</a> for the foreseeable future. After making it clear that they were committed to their longtime center, the Raptors inked Poeltl to a massive four-year extension that keeps him on the team through the 2029-2030 season.</p><p>Poeltl’s new four-year deal is <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1940115704751300674" rel="noopener">worth $104 million</a>, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. The deal includes his $19.45 million player option for the 2026-2027 season, with three years tacked on.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has agreed on a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the franchise through 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Poeltl will pick up his 2026-27 player option at $19.5M and add three additional years to his deal. <a href="https://t.co/wBHnoF5vUV">pic.twitter.com/wBHnoF5vUV</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1940115704751300674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The deal comes after reports suggested the Raptors were unwilling to deal Poeltl, despite receiving interest from the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Toronto was not even willing to give him up for a potential Kevin Durant deal, which ultimately ruled them out of consideration.</p><p>The Raptors now have four players signed to long-term deals. Poeltl joins Scottie Barnes as the two players signed through the 2029-2030 season. Toronto has Immanuel Quickley inked through 2028-2029, with Brandon Ingram on the books through the 2027-2028 season. Barnes, Ingram and Quickley will all make over $30 million in 2025-2026.</p><p>While the Raptors’ salary situation is extremely top-heavy, they will have 13 total players returning in 2025-2026. Backup center Chris Boucher is the only key rotational player who is currently a free agent.</p><h2><b>Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl extension sets up future complications</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Raptors-guard-Gradey-Dick.jpg"><figcaption>Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite missing the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, the Raptors continue to have one of the most expensive teams in the league. While their core remains locked in for the next three years, Poeltl’s extension limits Toronto in the 2026 and 2027 offseasons.</p><p>The Raptors have a handful of young players who will hit free agency in 2026, including Ochai Agbaji, A.J. Lawson and Colin Castleton. They would want to keep all three around, particularly Agbaji, but neither would be a significant loss.</p><p>However, Toronto figures to face its biggest challenge in the 2027 offseason, when R.J. Barrett and Gradey Dick’s contracts expire. The Raptors picked up Dick’s team option ahead of the 2024-2025 season, but he is in line for a much larger deal due to his steady progression. They would likely only be able to retain one of Barrett or Dick and might eventually be forced to trade one of their big contracts to make more room.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.3	7.7	1.8	0.6	0.6

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.3	7.7	1.8	0.6	0.6

Jakob Poeltl

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Grading Jakob Poeltl’s $104 million Raptors contract extension

What Myles Turner, Jakob Poeltl moves mean for Celtics

Raptors, Jakob Poeltl agree on $104 million contract extension

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