The Raptors had a great reaction from Jakob Poeltl: "Yak parece estar bem"

♪ I've been waiting for you ♪

The problem: a season of injuries

The Toronto Raptors pre-season began with a name in the spotlight: Jakob Poeltl. The 2.13 m Austrian center faced back problems last season and managed to play only 53 games. Even on the court, the starting center many times did not seem to be 100% lacked fluid mobility of always, and time was felt too much in the absence of a reliable point guard.

O que a diretoria disse

At Thursday's pre-season conference, executive vice president and general manager Bobby Webster, 42, projected a recovery season filled with optimism about the state of the player who spent the summer abroad.

"Yak looks good", said Webster. "O tempo dirá enquanto avançamos até o training camp, mas você vai ver que ele está com bom humor, em boa forma. Qualquer um understands that to go back home é bom, e acho que ele voltou com motivação e disposição para manter o corpo ou mais saudável possível".

In addition to the health of the pivô, Webster addressed other topics in basketball operations: a salary structure of the roster, with good flexibility for future adjustments, and the confidence of the board our young talents do time.

Next steps

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic will begin training camp next Monday, followed by five exhibition games, a period that the Serbian coach will use to adjust his rotation and test different defensive schemes.

All of this culminated in the NBA's 2026/27 regular season debut, on October 21, against the Chicago Bulls at Scotiabank Arena.

Where are we ?

The expectation of the board is clear: with Poeltl recovered, the Raptors leave for the season with a more complete cast and training camp will be the first real test to confirm whether or not he's ready to return as centerpiece.