Report: Serge Ibaka signs with the Clippers
For the second year in a row, the Toronto Raptors will lose one of their prized possessions to the Los Angeles Clippers as Serge Ibaka has reportedly inked a deal to head to L.A., The Athletic's hams Charania reported Saturday night.
The deal will reportedly be a two-year, $19 million contract to pry the 31-year-old away from Toronto, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will not become official until the NBA free agent moratorium is lifted on Sunday at 12:01 p.m. ET.
Raptors executives Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster had reportedly met with Ibaka and his agent Saturday afternoon after signing Fred VanVleet to a four-year, $85 million contract, Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported.
Ibaka is coming off a career year in which he averaged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds while starting 27 of 55 games for Toronto. He shot 51% from and 38.5% from behind the arc.
With Ibaka gone, the Raptors will have to quickly find answers to fill a massive hole in their frontcourt. The team could turn to the 35-year-old Marc Gasol who remains unsigned as of Saturday night or the 27-year-old Chris Boucher who was extended a qualifying offer by the team last week.
Looking elsewhere, Aron Baynes is the most obvious choice still available on the market. The 33-year-old Baynes started 28 of 42 games for the Phoenix Suns last season, averaging 11.5 points with 5.6 rebounds and 35% 3-point shooting.
Whomever Toronto signs will likely have to be brought in rather quickly with the team heading to Tampa, Fla. on November 30 as the league begins pre-season workouts scheduled to start on December 4th and 6th.
