The Toronto Raptors went into the NBA Draft Lottery with the seventh-best odds to land the first overall pick. They had a great opportunity to jump into the top four as well. Neither of those positive outcomes panned out.
After a miserable 2024-25 NBA season, the Raptors were rewarded with slipping two spots in the pecking order. They will select with the ninth overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.
The misfortunes of Toronto could leave at least one team happy about the result. That, of course, would be the center-starved Los Angeles Lakers, who are now looking at Jakob Poeltl like an answer to their prayers.
Raptors' draft positioning makes Poeltl expendable
They key reason to believe the Raptors would be in a prime position to move on from Poeltl would come from analyzing their best options in the 2025 NBA Draft. Assuming they stay at the ninth overall selection, a prime candidate for that spot would be Khaman Maluach.
The Duke Blue Devils center is considered by most to be the top big man propsect available in this year's draft class. Maluach averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game during his freshman season with the NCAA juggernauts.
The South Sudanese center shot an efficient 71.2 percent from the field at Duke. Maluach also posted a ridiculous 147.3 offensive rating and averaged .164 win shares per 40 minutes.
If not the Duke big man, the Raptors could also take a long look at Derik Queen out of Maryland. Either way, finding the center of the future would be the obvious move for the team up north.
The Raptors are already stocked on the wings and have a solid guard rotation as well. Immanuel Quickley just signed a massive extension last offseason and Jamal Shead showcased plenty of promise in his rookie season. Center is the only spot not obviously solidifed for Toronto.
The Lakers have already attempted to contact the Raptors to inquire about Poeltl's availability before this past NBA trade deadline. Masai Ujiri turned Rob Pelinka away.
However, with Poeltl set to turn 30 years old before the end of the 2025-26 season, are the Raptors in a comfortable enough spot in their rebuild to justify holding onto the aging big man?
Poeltl is an excellent ceiling raiser for a winning team due to his ability to anchor a defense down low while serving as a strong offensive play-finisher or connective passer. The Raptors center is coming off several career highs in 2024-25 that have undoubtedly boosted his value.
The Lakers would probably prefer to go a little younger in their pursuits of a center for Luka Doncic. However, Poeltl is exactly the type of win-now addition that would propel Los Angeles much closer to championship contention.