Jakob Poeltl will help Mark Williams get paid in the strangest way

Did you know that Jakob Poeltl is available via trade from the Toronto Raptors? Do you care? Most likely not, because the Phoenix Suns aren't interested in adding another center right now.

They'd like to move on from this one if they could, but should that happen it will be a low-key deal that hopefully nets them a second round pick or two in return.

Poeltl can help ensure Mark Williams earns massive new deal

But one unexpected twist from the 30-year-old Austrian being available at the deadline is how that will impact the rookie extension that Mark Williams is now eligible for.

It has long been expected that Phoenix is going to bring Williams back on a large number given they sacrificed a pair of first rounders to get him, and his play so far this season has only backed that up.

Not only has he remained remarkably healthy, he's even appeared in a couple of back-to-backs for the franchise. That would have been unheard of before the season began.

Poeltl himself has an extension that only kicks in beginning in 2027, and is around the three-year, $84 million mark. Yet the Raptors want to get rid of him already.

That has as much to do with their cap situation than anything else, but it is the perfect bargaining chip for Williams to use when it is his turn to secure a deserved bag.

How is it that a veteran who is six years his senior can have that kind of money coming up, and who has only appeared in 21 games so far himself this season?

Not that Williams should be thinking about the number Poeltl will be making down the road, he should be thinking much bigger than that now that he has proven he can remain healthy for a large portion of the season.

It is already accepted that owner Mat Ishbia is willing to pay to keep talented players in Phoenix, it is why Jimmy Butler was so desperate to force a move to The Valley around this time last season.

With Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks already taken care of, it will be the turn of Williams this offseason.

Projections heading into this season had Williams around the three-year, $50 million mark, which is yet another reason why Poeltl being available is so important.

The Raptors are going to struggle to shift him at that money, but if that were Williams and Phoenix all of a sudden wanted him gone, we know they could find a suitor for him.

The Los Angeles Lakers are already kicking themselves for having vetoed a trade last season themselves. The keys to the bag are currently in Toronto, and Williams can use that situation to his advantage.