Former Utah basketball star Jakob Poeltl is reportedly returning to the place where his NBA career began.
The San Antonio Spurs are trading Poeltl to the Toronto Raptors for Khem Birch, a protected 2024 first-round draft pick and future two second-round picks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Poeltl was selected by the Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He played two seasons in Toronto before being traded to San Antionio as part of the deal that brought Kawhi Leonard to Canada in 2018.
Poeltl has started 45 games for the Spurs this season, leading the team in rebounds per contest, with 9.1. He’s also averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 assists and 1.2 blocks and has been a defensive presence in San Antonio.
In his two seasons at Utah, the 7-foot-1 center helped lead the Utes to two NCAA Tournament berths, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015.
In his sophomore year, Poeltl averaged 17.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, winning Pac-12 Player of the Year and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the best center in college basketball.