TORONTO – Toronto Raptors fans have been confused on draft nights. They’ve been enraged, with good cause (Rafael Araujo). They’ve been enraged without cause (Jonas Valanciunas). They’ve been pleasantly surprised (DeMar DeRozan) and thrilled (Vince Carter).
But this time around what could they reasonably feel as the Raptors chose Austrian big man Jakob Poeltl?
Curious? Just OK?
Bland might be good, but it’s still bland. The Austrian pasty pastry has arrived, albeit with great enthusiasm for the task:
“I’m super excited to be here, to be in this situation,” said Poeltl to reporters at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “I think I can be a guy who’s out there always fighting, always trying to get better. I think I’m far from being done as a player … I can improve a lot, I feel like and I hope I can help out the organization these next couple of years.”
The dream scenario was that the Raptors would be able to pry away an elite power forward with their ninth overall pick and a roster player or two.
They tried. The Raptors were in conversations with the Oklahoma City Thunder about acquiring Serge Ibaka, according to league sources. Ibaka would seem to be the perfect fit alongside Valanciunas, providing the magical combination of length, shooting ability and defensive versatility.
Using future assets to procure a ‘right-now’ solution would have made draft night a huge success, almost regardless of what the Raptors would have had to give up to make it so.
It didn’t happen though as Ibaka was reportedly traded by the Thunder to the Orlando Magic for a package including Victor Oladipo, the No. 11 pick (Domantas Sabonis) and Ersan Ilyasova.
You can’t force a team to trade with you, but even the idea that Ibaka was available and the Raptors didn’t get him to fill in the gaping hole they have at power forward couldn’t help but feel like a missed opportunity, whether it was realistic or not.
Instead with the pick that they acquired from the New York Knick for Andrea Bargnani – the No. 1 overall pick a decade ago – the Raptors took the 7-foot, 250-pounder out of Utah.
Poeltl is an example of how the game and its priorities have changed. There was a time that a 20-year-old seven-footer with great hands and high IQ would have been a good bet to go in the top five, if not higher.
But with the NBA going smaller and emphasizing outside shooting and the ability to guard on the perimeter Poeltl slid to the Raptors at the ninth spot.
Statistically he glitters as he averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and 1.6 blocks a game while shooting 67 per cent from the floor. His PER (player efficiency rating) of 31.5 was the highest of any players taken in the first round.
“He’s fundamentally sound, physically ready with an NBA-ready body,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “Just like most young kids he’s just going to have to get used to the NBA game, speed and quickness but we feel he’s going to translate to the NBA game.”
Not that the Raptors weren’t considering options.
“They were on the phone all day,” said Casey. “I don’t know how close things were … but nothing developed. Luckily the guy we wanted was there.”
The question will be how soon Poeltl (pronounced ya-kib Pert-l) can adapt.
“His speed and agility around the cones [in pre-draft workouts] was really impressive,” said Casey, who also praised his work ethic and screen setting. “This is an excellent insurance policy for us as far as the centre position, the power forward position is concerned.”
Poeltl played at Utah with Raptors reserve point guard Delon Wright, who had nothing but high praise for his former teammate.
“He’s legit, he was good before he came to Utah,” said Wright on a conference call. “On pick-and-rolls, he rolls really hard, a lot of bigs you have to teach them to roll hard, he came in rolling really hard and finishing with great hands.”
Poeltl says he’s trying to grow his skills to fit with the modern style of game where back-to-the-basket scoring opportunities are becoming increasingly rare.
“It’s something I never really did in college,”said Poeltl. “I didn’t really work on [shooting] too much … now that I’ve finished my season … I’ve started shooting a lot more and I’ve noticed some quick improvement. So I really hope I can be or become a better shooter fast and stretch the floor a little bit more.”
The top two picks in the draft went as expected with Australian Ben Simmons going No. 1 to the Philadelphia 76ers and Duke’s Brandon Ingram going No. 2 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kitchener’s Jamal Murray was taken No. 7 out of the University of Kentucky by way of Orangeville’s Athletes Institute Prep, the same program that produced Thon Maker, the Australian big man who went No. 10 to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Raptors took Pascal Siakam of Cameroon by way of New Mexico State. The 6-foot-10, 22-year-old averaged 20.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game. A high-energy player with great length will draw comparisons to Bismack Biyombo, who the Raptors expect to lose in free agency.
He was projected as a second-round pick, but fits with the Raptors’ appreciation for players with energy and defensive versatility and will likely hone his game with Raptors 905 in the NBA Development League.
Again, it’s not the draft night Raptors fans might have hoped for, but it’s likely not a draft night they’ll regret.