HIGH HOPES
Raptors make centre Jakob Poeltl the first Austrian to be taken in the NBA draft.
As the NBA evolves into a game that places a premium on shooting and multi-faceted big men who are as comfortable 20 feet from the basket as they are in the paint, the Toronto Raptors have taken a gamble on a youngster who wants to fit that bill.
Jakob Poeltl, a seven-foot Austrian, may not have the greatest of range as a raw 20-year-old prospect but the Raptors saw enough promise in him to select him ninth in Thursday’s NBA draft.
Known now as good interior scorer, a quick-footed defender and a bundle of potential, the first Austrian drafted into the NBA knows where his game has to grow.
“I’ve started shooting a lot more and I’ve noticed some quick improvement,” the 20-year-old told reporters in Brooklyn.
“So I really hope I can be or become a better shooter fast and stretch the floor a little more.
“I’m not going to be a stretch five next year . . . I’m hoping for a constant improvement from year to year, get comfortable with that 17-,19-foot jump shot. That’s so important for a big guy to be able to knock down right now.”
The Raptors stayed true to chasing big men with the 27th pick, taking Cameroonian Pascal Siakam, a sixfoot-nine power forward who spent two seasons at New Mexico State. Both Siakam, who led the NCAA in double-doubles with 27 as sophomore, and Poeltl were part of a Raptors workout held in Buffalo last week.
Poeltl, a former college teammate of Raptors guard Delon Wright, could also address Toronto’s glaring hole at the power forward position, Casey said.
“Wayne (Embry, the team’s Hall of Fame senior adviser) just mentioned it, he can see this young man playing the four,” Casey said.
“We do have a hole at the four position and his foot speed was really impressive . . . that’s something we’ll explore this summer in the summer league.”
Poeltl, who played in an NBA-style offence at Utah under former NBA player and coach Larry Krystkowiak, could find minutes on the court with Raptors starting centre Jonas Valanciunas.
“His foot speed is a little bit quicker than J.V. was at the same stage, that’s what struck me,” Casey said. “The league is going small and this young man’s foot speed will hopefully translate to be able to guard guys on the perimeter. The league is changing but again that’s why you want guys with quick feet who run persistently.”
According to several league sources, Ujiri had talks with multiple teams trying to move the No. 9 pick for an established player, including discussing a deal with Oklahoma City involving Serge Ibaka that didn’t progress far enough.
Ibaka ended up being traded to the Orlando Magic for a package of Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and lottery pick Domantas Sabonis.
“They were on the phone all day . . . did a lot of looking around, talking around as far as the pick was concerned,” Casey said.
Thursday’s draft was only a small part of the summer process for Ujiri, who has to immediately turn his attention to the free agency negotiation period that begins July 1.
The major issue is, of course, Rio Olympic-bound DeMar DeRozan, the two-time all-star and longestserving Raptor who has opted out of the last year of his contract.
The 26-year-old will command an annual salary of more than $20 million and both he and Ujiri have sounded like reaching an agreement on a new deal isn’t expected to be an arduous task.
But there are other issues to deal with that will have a huge impact on what the general manager can do to improve the team.
If the Raptors renounce their rights to free agents Luis Scola, James Johnson and Jason Thompson, they will still have a shade under $70 million committed for next season, not including a $15-million “cap hold” on DeRozan that remains until he signs somewhere, pushing Toronto’s commitment to about $85 million against a cap expected to be in the $94-million range.