Serge Ibaka and the Milwaukee Bucks agree to part ways

Serge Ibaka’s tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks is likely over.

Per a report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks and Serge Ibaka have agreed to part ways after the 14-year NBA veteran requested a trade.

Lack of playing time?

Ibaka has not been with the Bucks for some time now due to supposed personal reasons. The 33-year-old Ibaka last played for Milwaukee on January 1st in the team’s 95-118 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Ibaka arrived in Milwaukee in February 2022 via a four-team trade, and the big man was re-signed to a one-year deal in July 2022. Serge was brought in to provide the needed muscle in the paint, but he has seen limited minutes this season.

All coming off the bench, Ibaka has played 16 games this season but only averaged 11.6 minutes per contest. He is good for 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per outing.

Last season, when he got traded mid-season to Milwaukee, Ibaka played in 19 games, including two starts, with the Bucks last season and averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game while shooting 51.9% from the field, showing promise of being a valuable rotational big man.

Once a defensive beast

Ibaka spent his first seven seasons in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing quite possibly the best basketball of his career and being a defensive force.

Since then, Serge has become a bit of a journeyman. Ibaka was traded to the Orlando Magic from Oklahoma in June 2016 and shipped again to the Toronto Raptors in February 2017. Ibaka spent four seasons with Toronto and was instrumental in the Raptors’ championship run in 2019.

Ibaka will undoubtedly draw a lot of interest from other teams as an elite defender and reliable scorer. The Bucks are looking for pieces to help boost their injury-ravaged roster. Moving Ibaka in exchange for a valuable asset could be a good start in Milwaukee’s bid to fortify their lineup.