San Antonio Spurs

Report: San Antonio Spurs seeking 2 1st-round picks for Jakob Poeltl

Published by
Peter Dewey

The San Antonio Spurs reportedly are seeking two first-round draft picks in exchange for veteran center Jakob Poeltl this offseason.

The Spurs, who already traded away All-Star guard Dejounte Murray this offseason, are clearly entering a rebuilding phase ahead of the 2022-23 regular season.

San Antonio could also move on from veteran guard Josh Richardson, who the team acquired from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Derrick White during the 2021-22 season.

“Sources say Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson are the two Spurs players most commonly involved in trade talk,” SpursTalk’s L.J. Ellis wrote. “While the Spurs have dropped their asking price for the utilization of their salary cap space, their asking price for Poeltl and Richardson remains high. For Richardson, the Spurs are requesting a first round pick. For Poeltl, the Spurs are asking for two first rounders.”

Poeltl came to San Antonio as part of the trade package that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors ahead of the 2018-19 season.

He has been a solid player for San Antonio, starting 160 of the 280 games he’s played in for the team while playing 22.4 minutes per game. Poeltl averaged 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 61.8 percent from the field last season.

There’s no doubt that the veteran center could help any team in need of a big man, but the price of two first-round selections is certainly high. Poeltl has just one season remaining on his contract, and he will become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

It may be hard for the Spurs to sell a team on giving up two first-round picks for Poeltl when he may be with the team for just one season. With that being said, San Antonio is clearly setting its asking price high as it tries to accumulate draft picks for the future.

If the Spurs move on from Poeltl and Richardson, they would open up more playing time for young players such as Joshua Primo, Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins.

It will be interesting to see which teams emerge as the top suitors for Poeltl this offseason or during the 2022-23 regular season.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball, football and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

‘Wtf’: Trae Young reacts to Rashad McCants saying he could score 81 points like Kobe Bryant

Back in January of 2006, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant put on one…

21 mins ago

Rashad McCants says he could’ve won ROTY but had a coach who was ‘shaking in the motherf——g huddle’

Former NBA guard Rashad McCants was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the last lottery…

26 mins ago

Chandler Parsons says Jaylen Brown would be best player on over half of NBA teams, including some playoff teams

The Boston Celtics were without maybe their top player for Wednesday's Game 2 versus the…

30 mins ago

‘Spo gonna Spo’: Cavs player gives Erik Spoelstra his flowers after Heat’s near-upset in Game 2

The odds were stacked against the Miami Heat to pick up a win in Game…

44 mins ago

Report: Will Campbell landing with Patriots may depend on whether team gets ‘fair deal’ to trade down

As a consolation prize for a woeful 2024 season that was marred by losing, the…

47 mins ago

Report: ‘Most of the league’ has been contacted about Jalen Ramsey, including Rams, Lions and Eagles

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is one of the more notable players in the league…

51 mins ago