Following a successful negotiation with Orlando Magic, Serge Ibaka has now landed in Toronto. His strong presence in the pain is expected to improve Raptors defense.
Ibaka was traded with the first-round Draft pick and wing player Terrence Ross to Orlando Magic according to NBA.com. The Raptors president Masai Ujiri announced the successful deal on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Ujiri has been reported to covet the 6’10” player for a long time. Ibaka is targeted to fill-in the position of power forward and strengthen its front court. Although Ibaka is not the same player as he was in his early career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he still has the strong presence in the paint and a solid rebounder.
“Everyone knows who Serge is, he's a warrior,” Ujiri said in a press conference on Tuesday, as quoted by CBC Sports. The Raptors GM expected Ibaka to share his experience with his team mate as he also stated, “He brings playoff experience, he's played in the NBA Finals before.”
Ibaka is the 8-year-veteran who spent his first seven years with Oklahoma City Thunder since the 2009-10. He was one of the Thunder team member who advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals. He had played alongside Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, James Harden and Derek Fisher in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He was traded to Orlando Magic in the off-season last year in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ersan İlyasova and Domantas Sabonis, who was acquired in the 2016 Draft. He still showed a strong presence in Orlando, averaging 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 30 minutes playing time. However, Ibaka need a team that want to sign him for a long term, and the Raptors provided that.
Watch ESPN basketball talk show The Jump discussing recent NBA topics including Ibaka trade to Toronto below: