Jakob Poeltl bought into the long game the Raptors have been playing and was rewarded for it, while giving the franchise a little bit of financial wiggle room.
The 29-year-old centre, who has endured two wretched seasons without complaint since returning via trade in 2023, has agreed to a contract extension that should keep him with 海角社区官网until 2030.
The seven-foot centre has opted into the 2026-27 season of his current contract that is worth $19.5 million (U.S.) for each of the next two seasons. The extension starts at $26.4 million in 2027-28, grows to $28.5 million in 2028-29 and is not fully guaranteed in its final 2029-30 season, when the contract could max out to $30.6 million.
It鈥檚 hard to quantify how being Austria’s only NBA player changed the sport back home.聽
It鈥檚 unclear how much of that final year will be guaranteed but the Raptors gain some financial flexibility just because of the way Poeltl and his agent structured the contract.
The deal gives Raptors general manager Bobby Webster a base to operate on when he budgets for the next two summers, a key point when the NBA salary cap is now expected to grow by only seven per cent next summer as opposed to the expected 10 per cent.
It also ensures the Raptors will have a vital part of their rotation in the fold for years. Poeltl has taken an increasingly large role in the way the Raptors want to play offensively and defensively. He has emerged as an offensive linchpin as a ball-mover and anchors an increasingly effective offence.
Poeltl sat out about a dozen games near the end of the 2024-25 season for 鈥渞est鈥 as the Raptors minimized wins in pursuit of lottery odds, but 海角社区官网was one of the top five defensive teams in the NBA in last four months of the regular season and Poeltl played a major role.
While a major trade is still possible, the Raptors made their big move months ago.
Offensively, he鈥檚 been the connector in ball and player movement and has created a cohesive unit with the likes of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.
The Raptors also signed Poeltl鈥檚 backup Tuesday, agreeing to a two-year deal with six-foot-11 centre Sandro Mamukelashvili. A stretch-big who has shown three-point shooting skills in his four seasons, Mamukelashvili gets a deal worth $5.5 million over the two seasons. He has an option on the second season.
海角社区官网also announced it had signed Collin Murray-Boyles, its first-round draft pick last week, to a rookie-scale contract that pays him just over $6 million next season and added Chucky Hepburn, the ACC defensive player of the year last season at Louisville, to a two-way contract.
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