IBAKA TRADE HAS RAPS RIGHT WHERE UJIRI WANTS THEM
Acquisition of Orlando Magic’s big man gives Toronto its best starting lineup yet
For most of his five seasons with the Toronto Raptors, we waited for Terrence Ross to become something other than disappointing, confounding and overpaid.
It finally happened Tuesday: He became trade bait.
Ross was the significant piece on another day to shine for Masai Ujiri, the executive who quieted the noise, turned down the volume and brought a sense of internal peace and external joy to a Raptors team desperately in need of alterations.
That’s what leadership is in professional sport and that’s what leadership does: Rather silently and without buildup, Ujiri brought in the coveted Serge Ibaka, a player he viewed from afar with envy for many years. He has known Ibaka as a friend, as a fellow African, as part of the basketball community at large.
Now he will know him as a teammate of sorts, as a Raptor, as someone who can come in and shake Toronto’s foundation at a time when shaking is needed. Ibaka is real starting power forward — not a bench guy, not Luis Scola, not Amir Johnson, not like anything head coach Dwane Casey has had in his arsenal before in Toronto.
He’s the kind of player who understands winning, who is playoff-tested and playoff-ready, who has a clear comprehension of what April, May and June are all about in the NBA. He should make life easier for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. He’s a high-percentage shooter, a quick defender and a large presence at six foot 10, although not quite the shot blocker he was in his early years.
“I’ve known this guy for years,” Ujiri said. “He’s a hell of a competitor. Everybody knows who Serge is — he’s a warrior. He gives us good rim protection. He’s a good defender. He can play multiple positions.”
Ibaka led the NBA four times in blocked shots and was on the all-defensive team three times. He should also make life easier for Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson. One has slightly regressed in this up-and-down season and the other will return now to where he belongs, coming off the bench instead of starting.
This would be a home run of sorts for Ujiri and the Raptors except for the unknown aspects of the deal, and that includes exactly where Andy Miller, the player agent, fits in. The NBA is nothing if not an agent’s league. Miller represents pending free agents Ibaka and Lowry.
Suddenly he becomes a figure of significance for the Raptors. If Ujiri and general manager Jeff Weltman have the most influence on the Raptors’ future, Miller’s influence cannot be understated. He can go shopping with Lowry and Ibaka as his groceries this summer or can settle in for a long ride with Lowry and Ibaka playing alongside DeRozan and Valanciunas.
That’s the scenario Ujiri and Casey favour. Casey is always talking about how veteran teams, teams that stay together, teams with texture and experience, win in the NBA. This could be one of those teams.
Ujiri doesn’t deal often or without purpose. The Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani trades, seemingly impossible to make, proved to be big wins for the Raptors. He turned around and traded the pretty much finished John Salmons for Lucas Nogueira and Lou Williams. Even the small trades have produced victories. Greivis Vasquez was sent to Milwaukee for Norm Powell and a first-round pick. Vasquez is basically done as an NBA player; Powell, who should benefit from the trading of Ross, is just beginning to show his capabilities.
And now this deal Tuesday for Ibaka, which makes the Raptors’ starting lineup the strongest it has ever been with a still-capable bench and the assumption that one of these weeks Jared Sullinger will be able to contribute. Before Tuesday’s 105-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Raptors had won four of 14.
“We’ve had a bad stretch,” Ujiri said. “We never know how (the trade) fits on paper. We fill a hole, a gap that we’ve been missing. Hopefully, this gives us that jump that we need.”
Ibaka comes in and yet I can’t forget the night the Raptors drafted Ross. The Raps really wanted Harrison Barnes. Casey was sent out to speak to media and talk up their first pick as the second round proceeded.
Casey is terrible at not telling the truth. He can’t look you in the face and lie with any conviction. It’s one of his most endearing qualities. He said he was happy to have Ross. He said so with a crooked smile.
The next four and a half years he spent trying to figure out his vastly talented, wildly athletic, forever inconsistent wingman. This was his best season. Ross grew up as a basketball player in Toronto. He just didn’t grow into whatever kind of player the Raptors hoped he would become, but he was enough to entice Orlando.
Casey knows what Serge Ibaka brings. Ibaka’s career has almost been a straight statistical line. Casey has a new part and a brand new starting lineup. He has two months to get ready for the playoffs and to figure this Raptors team out.
I’ve known this guy for years. He’s a hell of a competitor. Everybody knows who Serge is — he’s a warrior.