Celtics Rumors: Spurs Want 'Significant Return' for Jakob Poeltl at Trade Deadline

The San Antonio Spurs reportedly have a high asking price on center Jakob Poeltl ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

According to Jay King of The Athletic, the Spurs like Poeltl and may not mind re-signing him during the offseason, so they are seeking a "significant return" at the deadline from interested teams, including the Boston Celtics.

The 27-year-old Poeltl has spent the past five seasons in San Antonio, and he is set to hit free agency at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

King noted that the Celtics are in the market for frontcourt depth in support of Robert Williams III and Al Horford, but they may be unwilling to part with a first-round pick in a trade for Poeltl.

Per King, such a deal would adversely impact the Celtics' flexibility moving forward, and it would be done in the name of acquiring a player who would perhaps be a backup behind Williams and Horford.

After averaging a career-high 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last season, Poeltl has been nearly as good in 45 games this campaign.

The Austrian big man is putting up averages of 12.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game, plus he is shooting 62.3 percent from the field, marking the sixth consecutive season he has shot 60 percent or better.

San Antonio acquired Poeltl from the Toronto Raptors in July 2018 as part of the deal that sent Kawhi Leonard north of the border, and while the Spurs have not been a contending team since, Poeltl has shown steady improvement over the past five seasons.

While the 7'1" Poeltl does have one major weakness in the form of free-throw shooting, as he's shot just 53.0 percent from the charity stripe during his career, he is one of the better pure centers in the league.

He has shown an ability to contribute on both ends of the floor, and he could prove to be a huge deadline addition for a playoff contender if any team is able to pry him away from the Spurs.

The Celtics are among the championship front-runners after reaching the NBA Finals last season, and it can be argued that Poeltl would be the final piece to a championship puzzle.

Even if Boston stands pat at the deadline, though, it is still perhaps the team to beat with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way.