Fischer’s Latest: Poeltl, Vucevic, Beverley, Bey, More

Spurs center Jakob Poeltl will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in 2023, and he’s looking forward to having more say in his future.

“I’ve never been in this situation where unrestricted free agency is coming up. It’s a cool situation for sure, because in the NBA, a lot of times you are — I don’t want to say stuck — but it feels like you’re a little bit of a pawn. They can just trade you around wherever they want,” Poeltl told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “It’s not the mentality you should have while you’re playing, but it’s the reality of it. Your contract can get passed around, more or less, whenever and however they want. So it’s nice to be in this situation where you can kind of decide your own fate and evaluate what’s going to be the best situation for me.”

Assuming Poeltl remains a Spur past the trade deadline, which certainly is not a given, Fischer writes re-signing with San Antonio “appears to be an option he will strongly consider.” Fischer polled league executives to gauge how much the 27-year-old might fetch on the open market, and the range was between $15-25MM annually.

The Raptors continue to be listed as a potential trade suitor for their former player, sources tell Fischer.

Here are some more trade rumors from Fischer:

• The Bulls are not currently discussing a contract extension with center Nikola Vucevic, sources tell Fischer. He adds that Chicago never seriously considered renegotiating his deal. According to Fischer, the Bulls have been telling rival teams inquiring about trades that “they believe they can make the playoffs when healthy.” However, the latest report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski might damper that prospect.
• The first-round pick the Lakers offered the Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic was “heavily protected,” according to Fischer, who hears from sources that Patrick Beverley hopes to rejoin the Timberwolves if he’s dealt to a rebuilding club like Detroit and reaches a buyout agreement. Beverley and Kendrick Nunn were included in L.A.’s offer for salary-matching purposes.
• Multiple rival teams tell Fischer that the Pistons are seeking an unprotected first-rounder for forward Saddiq Bey. The 23-year-old still has one additional year left on his rookie scale contract after being selected with the No. 19 pick of the 2020 draft. He’s having a down season from three-point range, but is getting to the free throw line at a career-best clip.
• The Knicks were “eager” to make a deal before December 9 so they could have potentially aggregated incoming salaries again before the February 9 deadline, sources tell Fischer. One of their early targets was Rockets guard Eric Gordon, per Fischer. Houston continues to seek a future first-round pick for the 33-year-old, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported earlier on Wednesday.
• Sources tell Fischer that the Pacers are looking for an upgrade at power forward to join their young core, and he believes Indiana could be a potential destination for Hawks big man John Collins. Fischer hears from sources that the Pacers are giving the impression that they’re open to extending Myles Turner, though there hadn’t been any recent talks on that front prior to Turner switching agents. However, Fischer says Turner “would certainly be amenable” to continuing his career in Indiana.