Return of the Yak: The Everything Jakob Poeltl Thread

[hyper316]

Jakob is what Jazz hope they have in Kessler

[Badonkadonk]

I'm hoping one underrated aspect of this deal is the impact on Koloko.

Yak and Pascal are good friends. Koloko and Pascal have a strong connection. Aside from the obvious developmental benefit of having Koloko practice against and learning from a player like Yak, there's a reasonable chance they also connect in the offseason to work together.

The Raps had Koloko in the 20ish range largely based on his long-term potential, and we've seen flashes. Ideally Yak helps him realize some of that. I definitely think NOT having a real center to learn from slowed his development so far. Literally nobody else on the roster plays drop-coverage, hunts on the weakside and provides traditional rim deterrence (Precious does it in an unorthodox way).

[Basketball_Jones]

Team negative in shambles.

Team 'we don't need a center' in shambles

I hate these team tank in shambles posts. Like yeah wait till the playoffs first before declaring victory

[DatHomieYouHaTe]

The difference a real C makes is insane.

Self sabotage over the last few years.

He's like a different breed of center though. Not gonna find many centers that are agile enough to guard on the perimeter like yak.

[CoinTossRoss31]

If we resign Yak I finally feel comfortable with our center position.

Yak/Precious/Koloko is a rotation that allows us to focus on other positions. Primarily guard.

[GreatWhiteStiff]

As long as our Yak is kept in a Scottish Barn with a Van fleet for transportation, he should do alright.

[nikster]

I said in the off-season that he was the missing piece for us to be a good team again, and that he's a top 10 C.

Jokic
Embiid
Sabonis
Towns
Adebayo
Turner
Lopez

Those are the only Cs I would say are legitimately better right now. He's right up there with Allen, Ayton, and Claxton.

And he is/likely will be on a great value contract compared to some of those players. Like I would much rather have Poeltl at $20 million over Ayton at $32.

Also Ive been really impressed with how Turner stepped up his offense. Moving Sabonis really opened things up for him.

[bespoke]

i think it's time we go all in as contenders to capitalize on fvv siakam and perterls primes. barnes + og + koloko for beal?

[Los_29]

Jakob is what Jazz hope they have in Kessler

The thing that Poeltl can do that Kessler can't is pass and that's a huge asset for a center to have. This allows Poeltl to act as an offensive hub whereas Kessler doesn't touch the ball unless it's off an offensive rebound. Poeltl's assist rate in college was double that of Kessler's and Poeltl has done nothing but improve on that as his career has gone along. Not sure Kessler has it in him but it would be a valuable asset for him to develop.

[WaltFrazier]

Team negative in shambles.

Team 'we don't need a center' in shambles

I was a part of that crew that always said "we don't need a center just for the sake of having a center".

But Jakob is not here just for the fact that he is big. He is a center who flies around defensively and does not ruin a defense, he props it up. I am a little surprised he has not bogged down the offense a bit but I suppose when you are putting up 21/11 per 36 on 77TS% it is impossible to be a negative guy there either.

I don't think we would be as happy if we got a bigger center (like JV)

Yeah Poeltl was the one I wanted most all along. Turner would have been good for blocks and shooting but I don't think he has the IQ and overall effectiveness. Olynyk would have brought shooting and smarts but not the same D as Jak. It's comical because certain posters kept wrongly saying oh you want a lumbering center, a traditional big. But I was sure Jakob had the mobility and smarts and passing and D that would help us a lot.

[WaltFrazier]

Team negative in shambles.

Team 'we don't need a center' in shambles

I hate these team tank in shambles posts. Like yeah wait till the playoffs first before declaring victory

Whatever happens, Poeltl was a necessary building block to having a competitive team. This summer we build upon the base.

[T_saurus]

San Antonio is OUR farm team

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

At this pace we will be lucky to sign Poeltl for 20 million a season which would make him like 15th highest paid in AAV. We might be looking at up to 25-27 million a year.

[Inklink]

Grown man mutant ninja poeltl

[OakleyDokely]

so far, he's had the impact of a legitimate allstar big.

[redeye514]

As someone who was very much in the 'bring Poeltl home' camp, I have to give flowers to the captain of that camp, WaltFrazier!!

Walt has been arguing why Poeltl would be a good long term fit for us for a while now, and that Poeltl is worth pursuing even in a disappointing season like this one. I've always agreed, but never had the patience to debate it with as much vigor as WF has.

Team 'we don't need a center' in shambles

I was a part of that crew that always said "we don't need a center just for the sake of having a center".

But Jakob is not here just for the fact that he is big. He is a center who flies around defensively and does not ruin a defense, he props it up. I am a little surprised he has not bogged down the offense a bit but I suppose when you are putting up 21/11 per 36 on 77TS% it is impossible to be a negative guy there either.

I don't think we would be as happy if we got a bigger center (like JV)

Yeah Poeltl was the one I wanted most all along. Turner would have been good for blocks and shooting but I don't think he has the IQ and overall effectiveness. Olynyk would have brought shooting and smarts but not the same D as Jak. It's comical because certain posters kept wrongly saying oh you want a lumbering center, a traditional big. But I was sure Jakob had the mobility and smarts and passing and D that would help us a lot.

[Qhawe]

you might have the coldest display pic of all time.

[dagger]

At this pace we will be lucky to sign Poeltl for 20 million a season which would make him like 15th highest paid in AAV. We might be looking at up to 25-27 million a year.

I really doubt that. There is only so much cap space to go around, and enough free agents to soak it all up. I also think Jakob would like the longest deal possible, and we can give him both the extra year and larger increases.

[dTox]

He Yak'd all over the tank

[KrazyP]

It'd be crazy if we went on a Celtics like dominant defensive run to close out the year.

I think you are always super optimistic about everything around here

That said, it should be noted, the Celtics were a floundering .500 team in 2020-21 season. They then traded a 1st to bring Al Horford back and that made a massive difference to team chemistry and the way both the offense and defense functioned. High IQ glue guys at C are important.