The Toronto Raptors tried to acquire former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. at this year’s NBA trade deadline.

According to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, the Raptors talked to the Memphis Grizzlies about a potential trade for Jackson, but were ultimately beat out by a better offer from the Utah Jazz, who parted ways with three first-round picks in a package deal for the veteran big man. The scribe also mentions that the Raptors tried to dump center Jakob Poeltl’s four-year, $104 contract as part of the trade, but since they couldn’t find a trade partner for Poeltl, they couldn’t acquire Jackson.

“Leading up to trade deadline in February, the Raptors were working hard to try and make a deal that would land them Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies before he was ultimately traded to the Utah Jazz in a package that included three first round picks, according to multiple league sources. The sticking point was finding someone to take on Jakob Poeltl’s four years and $104 million the 30-year-old has owed to him,” wrote Grange.

Jackson, who is one of the NBA’s premier defensive bigs, is also a scoring threat and can shoot from beyond the 3-point arc, so he would have been a good fit in Toronto. Ultimately, however, the Raptors did not acquire him, and the Jazz ended up getting him instead.

Raptors Tried to Upgrade on Jakob Poeltl

Based on this report from Grange, it’s obvious that the Raptors tried their best to upgrade on Poeltl at the center spot. The 30-year-old Austrian big man had a disappointing year for the team, playing in just 46 games while averaging 10.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. All of his numbers were down across the board, and considering his four-year contract extension hasn’t even kicked in yet, it’s obvious why the Raptors were looking to upgrade on him.

The Raptors reportedly also had talks with the Sacramento Kings around Domontas Sabonis, but again, with Poeltl’s contract being a sticking point, Sabonis stayed with the Kings instead.

This offseason, look for the Raptors to once again shop Poeltl, although he won’t be easy to trade due to his poor play, injury concerns, and massive contract. If the Raptors were to deal him, the team would likely need to attach multiple first-round picks to get another team to bite on his contract, and it’s unclear if the team would be willing to do that just to dump his salary.

Collin Murray-Boyles Could Be Raptors’ Starting Center Next Year

The good news this year is that rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who was drafted ninth overall last year, had a terrific debut season in the NBA. He played well during the regular season when healthy, averaging 8.5 points and 5 rebounds in 57 games while playing well defensively, but he took his game to another level during the playoffs. In the Raptors’ first-round season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Murray-Boyles routinely had defensive assignments against all the Cavs’ top players and performed admirably on that end of the floor, while also chipping in much-needed offense.

Murray-Boyles is an undersized center at just 6’7″, but he plays much taller than his height indicates. Based on the promising play he had in his rookie season, look for him to get an opportunity to start for the Raptors next season, especially if they can find a taker for Poeltl.