Could Celtics Trade for Spurs' Jakob Poeltl to Fuel Title Run?

The Boston Celtics recently were linked as a potential trade suitor for Jakob Poeltl amid the San Antonio Spurs' recent slide.

The San Antonio Spurs began the 2022-23 season with a 5-2 record but have gone just 1-10 since. Could their recent slide prompt the team to be more open to making a trade involving veteran players like Jakob Poeltl?

Poeltl is producing a strong season for the Spurs, averaging 13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. He is shooting a highly efficient 64.2 percent from the floor while anchoring the defense. 

In the latest episode of The Hoop Collective, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggests a potential connection between the Boston Celtics in regards to being a logical trade suitor for Poeltl.

“The question is ‘does this team need to go out and get another big man who can defend?’” Windhorst said. “The name that has come up that people have speculated has been Jakob Poeltl from the Spurs. They did a deal with the Spurs last year, obviously, for Derrick White."

Windhorst stated there is a genuine possibility that Poeltl simply remains with the Spurs. The team has more than enough cap space to comfortable re-sign him and he fills an integral role for the team's offense as an increasingly utilized facilitator in addition to anchoring the defense. 

“The Spurs may want to keep Jakob Poeltl. I’m not saying they’re going to put him out there. The Spurs were unable to extend Poeltl. They tried to extend him before the season. He will become an unrestricted free agent. They have the lowest payroll in the league. San Antonio can certainly afford to pay him, maybe that’s what they’re going to do at the end of the season.”

The Celtics could use more depth at the center position to insulate themselves from potential injury damaging their title contention pursuits. Robert Williams III will return from injury midway through the season, 

It remains to be seen what a trade could look like involving the Celtics and Spurs considering the difficulty of navigating Boston's limited trade offerings regarding young players. Payton Pritchard hasn't had much of a role this season and he's a 24-year-old guard who could be of interest. Boston does have all of its future first-round picks, too. 

Poeltl is earning just under $9.4 million in what is the final year of his current contract. The Celtics would likely need to be willing to trade Danilo Gallinari ($6.4 million) to a third-team willing to take on his contract in order to legally execute a trade for salary matching purposes. 

The Spurs reportedly have sought multiple first-round picks in any trade involving Poeltl. Given that Boston already has Al Horford and soon will get Robert Williams III back from injury later this season, is that the position they want to use future draft capital on in a trade? Perhaps 

The Celtics would undoubtedly need to view Poeltl as a long-term piece given he's playing on an expiring contract and will need a new contract. Horford will be 37 next June and is set to reach free agency. Perhaps Poeltl could be a long-term replacement albeit there is a real difference in style of play considering Horford is more of a stretch big while Poeltl does most of his damage in the paint.

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