The San Antonio Spurs enter the 2022-23 NBA season at the start of a rebuild. What that ultimately means for Jakob Poeltl’s future with the organization remains to be seen.
Poeltl is finishing his career averaging 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 blocks in 29.0 minutes per game. It was his second season in his NBA career and he even hit his threshold of 20 minutes per game.
HoopsHype recently ranked each of the NBA’s top 25 centers entering the 2022-23 season. Poeltl was just outside the top 10, with him ranked 12th overall. It’s worth noting that some names like Kristaps Porzingis and Christian Wood were considered power forwards and didn’t rank on this list.
The production Poeltl has proven to be capable of in box-scoring has elevated him among the NBA’s better centers. I have.
One area where Poeltl provides significant value is paint protection as a defensive anchor. He’s a tech with an angle to hold himself in space against the players around him when necessary.
Poeltl isn’t a flashy scorer, but he continues to develop into a productive rim roller who can make shots for his teammates. His presence in the pick-and-roll situation helped Dejounte Murray emerge as an All-Star.
Again, the main questions are: Will Poeltl play for the Spurs for the entire 2022-23 season?
Poeltl will play in the final year of his current contract. That means he could reach unlimited free agency next summer, barring a potential extension to his contract. He will be 28 in the first year of his new contract, which does not align with the timeline.
There is value in having an influential veteran player help the locker room and develop younger players. That may be the case, but Poeltl could choose to sign with a more competitive team.
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