Serge Ibaka leaves the Toronto Raptors to join the Los Angeles Clippers in a two-year $ 19 million deal. Ibaka has a player option in 2021 which can make him become a free agent again.
It was a bittersweet day on Nov. 21 for the Toronto Raptors.
Yesterday is where Raptors fans found out that Fred VanVleet had agreed to re-sign with Toronto to a four-year $ 85 million contract with a player option in the final year of his contract.
But, while they were celebrating VanVleet’s return, Raptors fans also found out that Serge Ibaka was leaving Toronto to join the Los Angeles Clippers.
Free agent Serge Ibaka plans to sign a 2-year, $19M deal with the Clippers, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 22, 2020
Ibaka, who averaged a career-high 15.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.4 APG, is a good pick up for the Clippers because they need a center, especially with Montez Harrel signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also reunites with former Raptor and two-time finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
With Ibaka gone, Toronto now needs to fill the void of his role with another center.
I've had great teammates, front office and staff next to me. And of course, a fan base that is second to none. So thank you Toronto. Thank you, Canada. And thank you @Raptors. I am one of yours forever. #WeTheNorth
— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) November 22, 2020
So, who can Toronto get? Who is still available?
Here are some centers that are available right now that the Raptors can sign to replace Ibaka.
Chris Boucher
Chris Boucher has spent two years with the Raptors. The 27 years old center averaged a career-high 6.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG with 13.2 minutes per game.
With Ibaka gone and the status of Gasol still unknown, Boucher’s minutes will go up. He has shown some potential with the limited minutes he played.
So, with more minutes, Boucher gets the opportunity to show his full potential on the court. I am not expecting to average 20 and 10 because that is not what the Raptors need him to do.
They need him to grab rebounds and play defense. So, I am expecting him to average around 12 and seven.
Boucher is a restricted free agent right now. He can still return to the Raptors even if he signs with another team because they can match the offer.
They should sign him as soon as possible so they do not have to match the offer because it could affect the cap space for 2021.
Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside had a good regular season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Last season, he averaged 15.5 PPG and 13.5 RPG.
But he didn’t have good playoffs this season. Whiteside averaged 6.8 PPG and seven RPG.
The reason his numbers went down due to the return of Jusuf Nurkic who was out for most of the season because he suffered a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula in the 2018-19 season.
With the Trail Blazers getting Enes Kanter and still have Nurkic on the team, Whiteside is now looking for a new team. That new team could be the Toronto Raptors.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse is familiar with Whiteside. Nurse coached Whiteside when he played for Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA D-League which is now the NBA G League.
The Vipers won the 2012-13 D-League championship with Nurse as the head coach. Whiteside averaged 5.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG for the Vipers.
He is not the same type of player that Ibaka was for Toronto, but he can give us the same type of numbers that Ibaka put last year.
He will most likely get a two-year contract that has a player or team option because of next year’s free agency. But for Whiteside, this is an opportunity for him to play well with a contender and an opportunity to get paid more next year.
DeMarcus Cousins
Just like when I was making a case for Isaiah Thomas to sign with the Raptors, DeMarcus Cousins is also a guy who was an All-Star four years ago. But now due to injures, is trying to find an opportunity.
Cousins who tore his Achilles during the 2017-18 season and tore his ACL before last season, is now looking to prove that he can still help a team. With Toronto needing a center, Cousins can help the Raptors assuming he is healthy and ready to play.
The last time he was healthy, Cousins averaged 25.2 PPG and 12.9 RPG for the New Orleans Pelicans. When he came back from his Achilles injury, he averaged 16.3 PPG and 8.2 RPG with the Golden State Warriors.
He is not going to be the same player when he was with the Pelicans. But if he can be the same player or at least be like the player he was with the Warriors, he can help the Raptors in the playoffs.
The obvious choice could be Marc Gasol. But he has offers from the two LA teams and the Golden State Warriors and as of this writing, Gasol has the Lakers as his top choice to sign.
Even if Gasol stays, they still need another big and either could be the one to help the Raptors to compete in the east.
They do not need to be All-Stars, they just need a guy who plays defense, grab rebounds and block shots.