Serge Ibaka wants to re-sign in Toronto
Week four without NBA action seemed to be the perfect time for Serge Ibaka to give Toronto Raptors fans some welcomed news.
The Raptors 30-year-old free agent-to-be told HollywoodUnlocked that he wants to stay in Toronto, on Wednesday night on Instagram Live.
When asked if he is planning to stay or go after this year, Ibaka said "I want to stay bro."
"This place is beautiful," he added. "It's a beautiful city, beautiful people here and then we have one of the best teams, why leave bro?"
Of course there will still have to be some negotiating between the team and Ibaka whose three year, $65 million contract is set to expire whenever the 2019-20 season ends.
The new contract will likely be Ibaka's last big pay day as he enters the back portion of his career after 10 seasons. Despite his age, however, the Raptors big showed no signs of slowing down this year, averaging a career-high 16 points per game with 8.3 rebounds.
Ibaka is just one of five upcoming unrestricted free agents Toronto will have to deal with this offseason. Fred VanVleet and Marc Gasol are also on expiring deals and will likely cost the Raptors a sizeable amount to retain next year,
Re-signing the 7-foot Ibaka would certainly help Toronto shore up its front court which could look very different next year as Gasol, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris Boucher all need new contracts.
If the Raptors are lucky, Ibaka might be willing to give Toronto a bit of a discount to stay in the city he's called home for the past four seasons.
