Masai Ujiri Stands By the Jakob Poeltl Trade & Sees His Value with Raptors or in 'Something Else'

Masai Ujiri isn’t backing off the Jakob Poeltl trade.

In a vacuum, maybe it made sense. It was clear at the time the Toronto Raptors needed a center. Toronto had solid starters at every other lineup spot but the gaping hole in the post had left the Raptors vulnerable.

“I think that team, in my opinion, deserved us to give them more than half a season a chance and that led to me thinking … that one of the pieces missing at the time was a big,” Ujiri explained earlier this week. “We thought it was good value to get a starting center for a pick.”

Ujiri has maintained that belief.

If you can get a starting caliber player for a first-round pick, it’s a good deal, he said.

Considering Toronto had just come off a surprisingly successful 48-win season the year before, he wanted to give the 2022-23 team a chance to prove maybe they were better than their 26-30 record at the trade deadline suggested they were.

“Collectively with our front office we decided to give that team a chance,” he said. “Maybe it was me being selfish and maybe it was a mistake on my part, but we went 15-11 after that. And so, I’m not going to sit here and cry over spilled milk or give you guys any excuses. If it was a mistake, it was a mistake. But going forward, for me, that’s good value for us, whether it’s now or sustainable in the future.”

Had the Raptors been good this year, that top-six protected first-round pick Toronto gave San Antonio wouldn’t be of much value. Maybe it would be a pick in the late teens in a draft that is widely considered to be very weak.

But that’s not the case.

If the season ended today, Toronto would have a 32% of keeping its pick and San Antonio would have a 68% chance at landing a pick somewhere between seventh and 10^th in the lottery.

The question for the Raptors is what is Poeltl actually worth today? If they tried to trade him now, how much of that value could they recoup?

It’s intriguing because Ujiri seemed to hit that it’s a possibility.

“When you trade a first-round pick for a starting center in the NBA, in our business and for us, it’s good for now and for the future,” he said. “Whether it’s a fit on our team or it’s something else in the future.”

Ujiri called Poeltl a top-10 center and a championship-type of player when Toronto acquired him and that was an exaggeration. He is no doubt a starting center in the league, but he’s closer to average than he is a high-end center.

But there are teams that could use someone like Poeltl. The Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, could use a traditional big to help out Chet Holmgren. They have more first-round picks than they could possibly use. The Phoenix Suns could probably use a center too, though their cupboards are pretty pair these days. Maybe the Golden State Warriors can talk themselves into adding an upgrade on Kevon Looney if another below-.500 team wants to take a chance on Poeltl ahead of the trade deadline.

Ujiri didn’t want to publicly admit the Poeltl trade was a mistake. He acknowledged it may have been, but wouldn’t outright say it.

But his actions over the next few weeks may speak louder than whatever is said in a mid-season press conference. Toronto is still considering more trades and Poeltl could be the next player moved.