With Ibaka’s arrival, Raptors’ Ujiri pushes “all in”

Feb 4, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) is defended by Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) in the third quarter at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 113-86. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) is defended by Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) in the third quarter at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 113-86. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

In a major trade, Terrence Ross is dealt, while Serge Ibaka is on his way from Orlando. Both the Raptors and Magic think they have improved.

Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has just pushed all his chips to the centre of the table. The Raps ended months of speculation about the future of Terrence Ross. He was dealt yesterday to the Orlando Magic, along with a first-round draft pick, for power forward Serge Ibaka.

Ross remains a player of tantalizing potential, while Ibaka has a host of accomplishments under his belt. For example, he led the NBA four straight season (2010-11 through 13-14) in total blocked shots.

There’s an ancient sports cliche about trades to the effect that whichever team gets the best player wins. If that’s true, the Raps clearly come out ahead, at least in the short term.

Jan 24, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) during warm up prior to an NBa game against the San Antonio Spurs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) during warm up prior to an NBa game against the San Antonio Spurs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

The acid test for Raptors’ GM Masai Ujiri comes in the off-season. Ibaka is an Unrestricted Free Agent [UFA], so his presence in Toronto could be brief. Masai has a proven ability to retain UFAs, and is gambling on doing so again. For the future of the franchise, he’d best win.

What it means for Raptors

The ramifications of this trade ripple wide for Toronto. By giving up on the frequently infuriating TRoss, the Raps surrender an effective 3-point shooter and defender. In return, they receive a significant upgrade to the front court. Ibaka immediately becomes the team’s best PF since Chris Bosh.

[20-second timeout: As for moving the first-round pick, as we know, draftees after the lottery are seldom impact players. Orlando’s GM Rob Hennigan needed a pick as a face-saver after his bizarre decisions in the off-season to trade for Ibaka and sign Bismack Biyombo. For Masai, the pick is moot. He wants to win Now, one reason being his desire to keep Lowry around. More on this soon.]

A starting five of Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry should match up with anyone. The second unit, already unable to cope without Patrick Patterson, is now dreadfully weak. TRoss leaves as the team’s third-highest maker of 3-balls with 598. Who’s going to back-fill? The spotlight will certainly shine on Norman Powell, and we can only hope he’s ready for his close-up.

What’s next?

The Raptors now resemble the Memphis Grizzlies rather than run & gun squads like Golden State. The Raptors just got bigger (NBA trade cliche alert: “Never trade big for small”…I wonder how valid that thought is anymore), and are going to be better defensively, particularly in the paint.

Offensively, we’ll have to wait and see. While Ibaka is a career 36.5% shooter from beyond the arc, DeRozan is notorious for his inability to make, or lack of interest in, 3-balls. Lowry now owns the team record of 816, but is going to be hard-pressed on every shot to improve his number.

We’re just getting started on how this deal affects our favourite floundering basketball team. Stay tuned for a plethora of posts.

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