From Bismack Biyombo to Serge Ibaka. . .
For many weeks, Serge Ibaka’s name has been the subject of trade talks, as the February 23rd trade deadline approaches. Well, the Toronto Raptors officially became buyers this afternoon, landing the veteran power-forward, in a deal to ship away swing-man Terrence Ross.
The Orlando Magic will also receive a 2017 first-round draft pick as compensation, originally owned by the Clippers. Ibaka will now be able to provide tough interior defense alongside Jonas Valanciunas, as well as being able to spread the floor for both Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
Toronto, who has dropped 9 of their last 10 games, were in desperate need of a roster shake-up, as Lowry called out the front office and said some things need to be changed within the organization. Without directly naming Dwane Casey as the main problem with the Raptors, this latest addition should have things neutralized for a few more weeks.
However, the only thing that could backfire in this move, is losing Serge in off-season. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent on the hunt for a last max-deal contract.
Orlando has agreed to trade Serge Ibaka to Toronto for Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round pick, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 14, 2017