Loss of Ibaka leaves a big hole, on the court and off

Baynes, Boucher have work cut out for them replacing popular centre

A 33-year-old New Zealander and a 27-year-old Saint Lucian who grew up in Montreal are now the centres on a Toronto NBA franchise that will play its home games to start next season in Florida.

They replace a Spaniard and a native of Republic of Congo for the Raptors, finishing a dizzying few days of news on and off the court.

A whirlwind weekend of big men on the move wrapped up Sunday night when Toronto came to terms with New Zealand’s Aron Baynes and Saint Lucia-Montreal product Chris Boucher to replace Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, who are now Los Angeles-based rivals.

The Raptors also signed small forward DeAndre’ Bembry to a two-year, $4-million (U.S.) deal, according to ESPN. The 26year-old spent parts of the last four seasons with Atlanta.

Baynes, according to sources granted anonymity because the transactions had not been formally approved by the league, gets a two-year deal worth about $14.3 million and Boucher’s two-year pact is valued at $13.5 million, although the second year is not guaranteed.

The financial ramifications of the deals should allow Toronto to still have enough cap room to be a serious player in a banner 2021 free agency class, long a goal of president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster. It should also keep Toronto below the luxury tax threshold for the 2020-21 season, although those calculations are not finalized until the last day of the regular season.

What it does on the basketball front is represent a seismic shift for Toronto. Gasol and Ibaka were mainstays of Toronto’s 2019 NBA championship run, Gasol as a savvy, ball-moving veteran who unlocked much of the Raptors offence and Ibaka as a tough, deep-shooting big who has just come off the best season of his career.

Neither Baynes nor Boucher will come close to replicating what Gasol and Ibaka gave the Raptors but they are not stiffs.

Baynes is a tough defender who averaged11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with Phoenix last season while shooting 35 per cent from three-point range on four attempts per game. He does not have the pedigree of either Ibaka or Gasol but he is a serviceable big man on a team that will be led by a core of Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Norm Powell.

While Baynes won’t be a ball-dominant big man, his rim protection and toughness will be sorely needed on a smallish Toronto roster.

Boucher should now get a chance at regular minutes. The lanky centre/forward has shown flashes in very limited use with the Raptors over the last two seasons and the team hopes he will grow into an increased role that is now available to him.

The departures of Gasol and Ibaka end the greatest two-season run in franchise history and each played a huge role.

The acquisition of Gasol in February 2018 was the last bold stroke of Ujiri and Webster in building a roster that would win an NBA title four months later. The 35-year-old was the best passing big man to play in Toronto and he was the anchor to a defence ranked in the top five in the league.

He was a perfect fit off the court, too. Entirely professional and concerned only with team success, his unselfish attitude fit perfectly into Toronto’s culture. He will be best remembered for his wine-fuelled, overthe-top celebration during the team’s championship parade that vaulted him to icon status among fans.

Gasol slowed considerably in the abbreviated 2019-20 season, plagued by injuries and unable to really get back to full speed in the playoff bubble.

Ibaka’s evolution since arriving in a February 2017 trade for Terrence Ross was something to see unfold. He arrived a tentative and somewhat reluctant addition, unsure of where he fit in the organization’s plans. He morphed into an integral part of a championship team — its best rim protector, a big man with deep shooting range, a tenacious defender and a mentor to the team’s young players.

Off the court, Ibaka thrived and became one of the team’s most popular players, able to connect with fans on a variety of levels.

His YouTube cooking show “How Hungry Are You?” was a huge hit — sautéed worms for DeMar DeRozan, pizza topped with bull penis for Kawhi Leonard were memorable — and his “How Bored Are You?” social media hits at the start of the pandemic were entertaining.