Lowry, DeRozan high on Ujiri’s power move
Like Lowry and Patterson, Ibaka heading for free agency and interesting off-season
CHICAGO— The need had been pressing and certainly not new, and when Raptors president Masai Ujiri got a deal he felt comfortably making, he pulled the trigger on what could be a franchise-altering transaction. Now there is no one who can complain about holes in the roster or a front-court need.
The acquisition of Serge Ibaka for what is a bargain-basement price has given coach Dwane Casey and the players what they wanted and needed.
“We’ve been talking about a four (power forward) for the last year or two as an addition to our team, and we got a guy like Serge at a critical point when we needed him,” DeMar DeRozan said Tuesday after Ujiri dealt Terrence Ross and a 2017 firstround draft pick to the Orlando Magic for Serge Ibaka.
Ujiri told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday that he’d had an eye on Ibaka for a while, touting the Congolese big man as a versatile rim protector.
“We’re at that point where I think everybody knows — it’s not rocket science — that was a missing link on our team,” Ujiri said.
“Patrick (Patterson) has done a great job, but I think we needed a couple of guys in that position, a prime guy in that position. He’s one of the better power forwards in the league and hopefully he fits in with us.”
The six-foot-10, 27-year-old is in the final year of a contract that pays him $12.25 million and bring a wealth of skills to a Toronto team that’s been relying on rookies Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl to fill in at power forward while waiting for Patterson to get over a knee injury.
Jared Sullinger has not been the answer due to a foot injury that robbed him of half a season, and Ibaka has precisely the skills Toronto needs.
“We could use the shooting, we could use the toughness, we could the floor-running, we could use the shot-blocking — we could use all of that,” Raptors all-star point guard Kyle Lowry said.
“Serge has been to (the NBA final). He’s been to a Western Conference final. He’s played with an MVP (Kevin Durant). He’s played with a possible MVP (Russell Westbrook). He knows how to play the game of basketball.”
Ujiri said the goal is to have Ibaka available by Wednesday night, but couldn’t guarantee he’ll face the Charlotte Hornets at the Air Canada Centre.
The long-term financial implications won’t play out until the summer, and not until everyone sees how this group will work together, but the Raptors could be facing an unprecedented need to spend. With Lowry, Ibaka and Patterson becoming unrestricted free agents in July, to keep the current group intact is likely go- ing to take a commitment of more than $125 million next season alone, pushing the Raptors far past the luxury-tax threshold for the first time ever.
Ujiri and the general managers and team presidents before him have always said Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s ownership would listen to any legitimate reason to spend past the tax limit. That argument will be put to the test in July.
For the short term, the move gives the Raptors as potent a lineup as they’ve ever had as they chase not only the Cleveland Cavaliers but the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference.
A roster imbalance between the front-court and back-court has been addressed. Ibaka provides a veteran presence with experience in big games, and the back-court has now been shrunk to a more manageable size with the departure of Ross.
“Yeah, but with that comes a new challenge of catching on quick — which shouldn’t be a problem, but still (it’s) an adjustment,” DeRozan said.
“(Ibaka is) one of the best shotblockers in the league, skilled at what he’s able to do in the post, a knockdown shooter . . . He’s so versatile in many areas on the floor it brings nothing but positivity to a team when you see it.”
Ross — he and Vince Carter are the only players in Raptors history to score 50 points in a regular season game — leaves after 31⁄ up-and
2 down years. The 26-year-old is a gifted athlete with an outside shot that is at time deadly efficient, but he was also prone to long periods of inconsistency.
He should get every opportunity to perform for the shooting-starved Magic, who began play Tuesday night with a 21-36 record, secondworst in the Eastern Conference.
“I don’t want him to look at it in a negative way or a sad way. It’s a new opportunity,” DeRozan said of Ross.
“All of us here want the best for him. I think he’s going to thrive in that type of position. Just to see him grow personality-wise into a father, into a player, I think he’s going to be just fine.” With files from Laura Armstrong