NBA Rumors: Spurs To Get "Significant Offers" For Center

His name has been in and out of the rumor mill for the past year: will he or won't he be moved by the San Antonio Spurs at the trade deadline? 7-foot center Jakob Poeltl is apparently in huge demand, with "a lot of interest" from rival teams, says NBA Insider Adrian Wojanrowski.

"Jakob Poeltl is going to be one of the real pivotal players at the NBA trade deadline... There is a lot of interest in Poeltl. And there are a lot of teams, for San Antonio, that are going to make the kind of offers that they may want to move him." But he adds that the Spurs like him a lot, and may try everything they can to keep him. 

Currently, Poeltl is eligible for "only" a 4-year, $58M extension from the Spurs in-season. But, as Woj notes, he'll be offered much more than that on the open market as a free agent next summer. 

He also posits that if the Spurs were to win the Victor Wembanyama Lottery, it would be a tremendous fit to have the rookie slot in at the 'four', with Poeltl—should they be able to re-sign him—playing the 'five.'

And it's worth noting that unlike recent years, centers are now back in vogue around the league. "You're going to see, at the trade deadline, (for Poeltl) some real significant offers," said Wojnarowski. "There are a lot of teams that want size. (If) you wanna beat Giannis (Antetokounmpo), you wanna beat (Joel) Embiid, you wanna beat (Nikola) Jokic in the postseason, there are plenty of contenders that see the value in Poeltl."

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