The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors had been linked to San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl in rumors over the last few weeks leading up to Thursday's 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline, and his former team ultimately won the bidding.
The Raptors reportedly acquired Poeltl late Wednesday night in exchange for Khem Birch, a top-6 protected 2024 first-round pick and two future second-round picks. Toronto drafted Poeltl with the No. 9 overall pick in 2016 and sent him to the Spurs as part of the Kawhi Leonard trade in 2018.
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The Spurs viewed the Raptors' offer better than what the Celtics were willing to give up.
MassLive's Brian Robb reported Thursday morning that the Celtics offered the Spurs a package of Payton Pritchard, Danilo Gallinari and multiple future second-round picks. The Spurs reportedly were originally seeking two first-round picks for Poeltl, so it appears they lowered their asking price a little bit.
Poeltl, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is averaging 12.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He's also a good interior defender. However, he does not shoot from the outside.
The Celtics reportedly have been looking to upgrade at center before the trade deadline. Now that Poeltl is off the board, the C's can still target big men such as Mo Bamba of the Orlando Magic, Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Willy Hernangómez of the Charlotte Hornets, among others.