In Serge Ibaka’s 8th NBA season, he’s had his most impressive offensive display of his career (15.1 PPG). His team’s success, on the other hand, hasn’t translated to victories with his phenomenal play. The Orlando Magic have the second worst record in the East and have been looking for more young guys to add to their already young team.
Luckily for Orlando, the Toronto Raptors have been looking for a power forward to help shape their team ever since Chris Bosh left in 2010.
Toronto’s starting PFs since 2010 have been, Amir Johnson, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola and Pascal Siakam. Seeing an opportunity to get Serge Ibaka on their roster was one they couldn’t let go.
According to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Toronto Raptors have now agreed to trade Terrence Ross and a 2017 first round draft pick to the Orlando Magic for 3x All-Defensive member Serge Ibaka.
The Raptors are in dire need to make a deep playoff push, after going 56-26 last season, they’re 32-23 right now and have been 4-10 in their last 14 games. They sit at the 5th seed in the East and will need all the help they can get to be close to the top of the conference once again.
The trade was also very risky for Toronto, as Ibaka is sitting on a 1-year deal, where they might not get him back in free agency. If their woes continue, there’s no telling if they’ll even be able to hold on to their upcoming free agent Kyle Lowry.
The Toronto Raptors will face the Chicago Bulls tonight, but won’t expect Ibaka’s debut in Toronto until Wednesday vs the Hornets or after the All-Star break.
Serge Ibaka has been averaging 15.1 PPG, along with 6.8 RPG and 48.8% FG. His presence will finally give the Raptors a threat at the PF position and also give them a new defensive anchor since the departure of Bismack Biyombo this offseason. Ibaka has been to 4 Western Conference Finals and 1 NBA Finals back in 2012, he’ll bring great veteran leadership and playoff experience to a team that has had their fair share of inconsistencies since losing to Cleveland in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
