Thunder reportedly place Serge Ibaka on trade block before NBA Draft
Oklahoma City is reportedly seeing what it can get for Serge Ibaka
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1 min read
Here's a draft-day rumor that comes out of nowhere: The Oklahoma City Thunder are shopping big man Serge Ibaka, according to ESPN's Marc Spears. Ibaka has one year and $12.3 million left on his contract.
In some ways, this isn't surprising. Ibaka is coming off an uneven season where his 3-point shooting, free throw shooting, shot-blocking and rebounding all regressed. The Thunder signed Enes Kanter to a long-term contract last summer and could try to extend the contract of Steven Adams this summer. General manager Sam Presti might have already decided not to give Ibaka a huge payday a year from now.
If that is the case, it is not necessarily because of anything Ibaka has done wrong. Beyond Adams and Kanter, Oklahoma City has Mitch McGary under contract and Kevin Durant has shown time and time again that he should play significant minutes at power forward. If trading Ibaka brings back a two-way wing player, Presti has to consider it.
Given what the Thunder accomplished in the playoffs, though, Presti will likely proceed with caution. Ibaka is one of the few players in the league who can both protect the rim and stretch the floor, and he turns just 27 in September. Maybe he has not developed as much as the franchise hoped as a playmaker or scorer, but he is valuable and not easily replaceable. Oklahoma City wants to retain Kevin Durant and compete for a championship next season. Do not expect Presti to do anything that makes those goals more difficult.
