The Toronto Raptors suffered a heavy loss today, on the court against the New York Knicks. No, they didn’t lose the game yet. Instead, we’re talking about what happened with Jakob Poeltl. While Raptors fans feared losing him to another big team, the Austrian has been rendered ineffective by something else entirely.

Poeltl did not join his team out of the locker room for the second half against the Knicks. Why? It was soon revealed that a right hip pointer injury was the culprit behind his absence. He did play 15 minutes in the first half. And during that entire time, there were no telltale signs suggesting that he was playing through an injury.

However, the hoopster was ruled out for the rest of the game. And so far, we haven’t been able to tell exactly when Jakob suffered the injury. There’s no official update regarding its severity either. Kelly Olynyk ended up replacing him for the second half.

Jakob Poeltl is amidst his best NBA season yet after making his debut in 2016. This season, the Austrian center has put up his best tallies for points (14.4), rebounds (10.3), and minutes played (31.2). All this while only missing five games. Therefore, this setback will be disappointing, though we believe a team-up with a certain ‘accomplished figure’ may help soften the blow for Poeltl. So let’s see what the rumor mill has generated so far.

Lakers reportedly express interest in Jakob Poeltl after shipping Anthony Davis!

The Lakers had quite a thin roster when they began the 2024/25 NBA season. However, after trading arguably their best player this season, Anthony Davis, they’re now more short-handed than ever. Especially considering they will not see Luka Doncic in Purple and Gold for the ongoing week at least as he recovers from a strained calf.

One of the positions the Lakers are most short-handed in is the big man position. One of the most important responsibilities on the court, the LA side, has very few good options with AD gone and Maxi Kleber out. This is why they have reportedly turned towards the Raptors, enquiring about potentially bringing in Jakob Poeltl.

However, getting him onto their roster won’t be an easy task. “The Lakers know it would be pretty hard — not impossible — to get him,” a source told Sports Net. It’s not like the Raptors aren’t open to offers for Poeltl, they just know what they want in exchange. And that is a first-round draft pick. The Lakers only have one of those, a first-round pick for the 2031 NBA Draft.

But, Toronto is also eyeing a player in the trade market. Namely, Brandon Ingram of the Pelicans. They’ve “emerged as a team to watch.” And they will need to free up some room in their finances to accommodate his salary. Good players don’t come cheap after all.

So they may have to part ways with Jakob Poeltl and his annual salary of $19.5 million. However, it remains to be seen whether the Lakers will still want to foot the hefty bill after his recent injury.

All in all, the buildup to Thursday’s trade deadline promises to be an exciting one. With many twists and turns still to come in the saga of Jakob Poeltl, keep checking in with us to receive the latest updates!