Does Serge Ibaka deal get Raptors closer to Cavs in East? Grade the trade
Toronto got what it needed
•
3 min read
The Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic have agreed to a trade that will send Serge Ibaka to Toronto in exchange for Terrence Ross and one of its two 2017 first-round picks, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Magic will receive either the Raptors’ pick or the Los Angeles Clippers’ pick, whichever is lower.
Let’s grade the trade:
Raptors acquire Serge Ibaka
This is a massive move at the time when the Raptors needed one desperately. They have lost 10 of their last 14 games, largely thanks to the fact they’ve only had one reliable power forward, Patrick Patterson, and he has been injured lately. Ibaka can start at the 4 next to Jonas Valanciunas in the starting lineup, but the real promise of this trade is playing him at the 5, next to Patterson. Toronto’s defense is 17th in the league, and Ibaka’s presence has the potential to improve it immensely. The loss of Terrence Ross hurts the Raptors’ spacing, but it also opens up an opportunity for Norman Powell, who played only 15 minutes in their last two games but has shown the ability to produce when given real playing time.
Ibaka and Powell are the kind of players that are coveted in today’s NBA. They are athletic, long and can defend multiple positions. Remember how incredible the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense looked against the Golden State Warriors in last year’s Western Conference finals? Ibaka was an enormous part of that, protecting the rim, recovering to shooters and switching onto smaller guys on the perimeter. That’s what his new team will need from him in a potential rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers in this year’s conference finals. Cleveland tore Toronto apart at home in last year’s series in part because the Raptors just weren’t versatile enough.
As well as his defense, Ibaka will arrive in Toronto shooting 39 percent from 3-point range this season. Until now, Patterson was the Raptors’ only stretch big man. Having the two of them space the floor will provide more room for All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to operate. Last May, the Cavs did everything they could to get the ball out of the guards’ hands, and Ibaka will give them another weapon to worry about.
DeRozan recently told reporters that it would be nice if the front office provided some help before the deadline, and this is exactly that. You can expect Ibaka to remain a part of Toronto’s core for the foreseeable future -- The Vertical reported that Raptors president Masai Ujiri will be “aggressive” in trying to re-sign him in the offseason.
According to projections by SportsLine’s Stephen Oh, Ibaka should have a significant positive impact for the rest of the season, increasing Toronto’s projected win total from 48.4 to 49.3 games and giving them an edge over the Washington Wizards for the No. 3 spot in the East. Of course, in reality, the Raptors still want to reclaim the second seed from the Boston Celtics.
Grade: A
Magic acquire Terrence Ross, 1st-round pick
This is complicated. In a vacuum, Ross and a first-rounder is solid return for a player who could leave for nothing in free agency this summer. Ross is an athletic 3-and-D guy who can put up points in a hurry, but can also lose focus on defense and disappear when the offense isn’t running smoothly. He gives the Magic more shooting, which they needed, and the departure of Ibaka means that their frontcourt rotation will be easier to manage.
The problem is that, last summer, the Magic gave up Victor Oladipo, the No. 11 pick in the draft (which became Domantas Sabonis) and Ersan Ilyasova in order to get Ibaka. If you think of this as Oladipo, Sabonis and Ilyasova for Ross and a late first, then this looks a whole lot worse.
In the big picture, Orlando’s rebuilding project over the last few years remains perplexing. I wonder what the addition of Ross means for second-year swingman Mario Hezonja, who has a similar skill set -- you know, the guys who could theoretically compete in both the dunk contest and the 3-point contest -- but has not been given a lot of playing time since being selected No. 5 overall in the 2015 draft. As for forward Aaron Gordon, I hope this means a return to playing power forward.
