Serge Ibaka (Photo : Sam Greenwood | Getty Images Sport)
The Orlando Magic shook the NBA in a draft day trade to acquire Serge Ibaka but his name has popped up in NBA trade rumors again.
The trade would have been good for Ibaka as he glaringly took a backseat to Steven Adams in the Western Conference Finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder blew a 3-1 lead against the Golden State Warriors. With the Thunder desperate to keep Kevin Durant, they sent their defensive specialist East to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft pick that turned out to be Domantas Sabonis.
The Magic wanted to take that big step and they needed a veteran star to lead them. But is Ibaka a "star" that should become the first option? That was the error of GM Rob Hennigan which was described by Justin Rowan of Hoops Habit as a "miscalculation."
Rowan noted several factors on why the Orlando Magic would be better off admitting that the trade was not exactly the best decision and try to salvage good pieces in return. Orlando has a 6-11 record but what's more telling is that they have the third worst point differential in the East and are last in offensive efficiency.
What's more, they signed Bismack Biyombo in the summer after trading for Ibaka. Both are defensive-oriented big men and while Ibaka's offense improved (simply because he was the first option as opposed to his role in OKC), it was still not enough to improve the team.
As Rowan pointed out, "the team made a miscalculation of where they were at in their development and tried to go all in. That doesn't mean that they have to ride out their error and double down."
If the Magic makes the decision to move on from Ibaka, which teams would be willing to trade for him despite his status as an impending free agent?
The LA Lakers are an easy choice. They are the season's sensation built around the offense, primarily from the guards (in contrast to Orlando). They are a poor defensive team, though even as they signed Timofey Mozgov as their defensive anchor.
Acquiring Ibaka could really help the team and it's hard to imaging Serge not re-signing in LA now that the Lakers are on the rise. They could send a package based on Julius Randle and possibly Lou Williams or Nick Young (both have been playing well of late).
The Toronto Raptors pursued Ibaka but lost out to the Orlando Magic as revealed by Michael Grange of Sportsnet Canada. They balked at the asking price which was "Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Patrick Patterson and their No. 9 pick."
At that time, the Raptors were still optimistic they stood a chance to keep Bismack Biyombo, their defensive anchor. Now that Biyombo is with the Magic, they should reconsider a trade since Ibaka would be a good fit alongside Jonas Valanciunas. Also, Ibaka knows how to play with stars like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
The Boston Celtics are still in search of a big man and Ibaka would also fit with Al Horford. The Milwaukee Bucks are also searching for a defensive big man-the missing pieces since they already have young talent at other positions
