TORONTO — Excellent foot speed and agility for a big man, and an NBA-ready body.
The Raptors selected Utah forward Jakob Poeltl, a 20-year-old from Austria, with the No. 9 pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft, shoring up a front court that will likely be without Bismack Biyombo and Luis Scola next season.
And moments after the Raptors made their pick from the war room to Biosteel Centre, coach Dwane Casey talked about an impressive workout Poeltl had in Buffalo, N.Y., last week.
"Fundamentally sound, physically ready, NBA-ready body," Casey said. "He had an excellent workout down there. His speed and agility around the cones were really impressive. An excellent insurance policy for as us far as the centre position, the power forward position is concerned.
"His foot speed is a little bit quicker than (Jonas Valanciunas) at the same stage. That’s what struck me doing the cone drills, he was huge as far as his speed and quickness."
Later Thursday, the Raptors added Pascal Siakam, a six-foot-10 forward from Cameroon, with their No. 27 pick.
Siakam led the NCAA in double-doubles with 27 as a sophomore for New Mexico State, and was a top-10 rebounder with 11.6 a game.
Poeltl, whose parents were Austrian national volleyball players, became the first player from Austria drafted. He played two seasons with the Utes, earning the Pac-12 conference player of the year and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the NCAA’s top centre. He averaged 17.2 points and 9.1 rebounds a game this season.
"It’s definitely still surreal," Poeltl said on a conference call. "I don’t feel like I’m an NBA player yet. It’s just an unbelievable feeling to have this day. I feel like it’s one of those moments that you don’t really grasp, but you’re going to remember for the rest of your life."
In past drafts, before the league’s emphasis on small ball, Casey said Poeltl likely would have gone higher than ninth.
The Raptors had talked about trading away the pick, but in the end, Poeltl, who Casey said has a strong work ethic and plays "extremely hard" became was the consensus choice,
"He’s a gym rat, so that’s what’s exciting about him, is the fact that you know the young man is going to work, come put his body on people," Casey said. "Excellent screener, been well-coached at Utah, runs an NBA style of offence at Utah which is very impressive."
Toronto was fortunate to own the ninth pick, after finishing at the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. They acquired it back in 2013 in the deal that sent Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks.
Poeltl watched as the Raptors came within two wins of the NBA finals, and said he’s excited to join a squad that’s riding a huge wave of success.
"I know it’s one of the best teams in the league last year," Poeltl said. "I can learn a lot from a lot of these guys that have had a lot of success in the NBA and are really good NBA players. That’s really what I’m looking forward to."
Poeltl joins former Utah teammate Delon Wright in Toronto. The Raptors took Wright with their No. 20 pick last year.
"His pick and roll," Wright said, on what Poeltl brings to the team. "He rolls really hard. A lot of bigs they don’t really roll hard, you have to teach them pretty much, but he came in rolling really hard and finishes with great hands."
Nine is the highest Toronto had picked since 2012, when they selected Terrence Ross at No. 8.
The Raptors selected two-time all-star DeMar DeRozan with the ninth overall pick in 2009.