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Blazers Rumored to Go After Ibaka, But Need to Take Caution

By Dayton Brown

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Dealing for Serge Ibaka Would be a Smart Move for Portland Only if it’s Executed Right.

According to Keith Smith of Real GM, the Portland Trail Blazers are one of seven total teams interested in trading for Serge Ibaka of the Orlando Magic. Ibaka, a 9th year man out of Congo, was traded last off-season to Orlando from Oklahoma City after spending his first 8 seasons with the Thunder. Ibaka is a young 9th-year man, only 27 years old.

Now, this report is just a rumor. There are no reports of actual talks between teams. However, it is an opportunity Blazer fans should be excited about, but only if the price is right.  Ibaka is on an expiring contract and hasn’t played well the past few seasons. The 6′ 10″, 235 pound power forward is a three time All-NBA Defensive First Team (2012-14) and led the NBA in blocks in 2013 and 2014. But since then, he’s plateaued and his production has been fairly mediocre. He’s a piece the Blazers need, but not the piece many Blazer fans are thinking of.

Must Read: Orlando Trade That Nobody Is Talking About

Smith also tweeted that the Magic are looking for a wing scorer in hopes of moving young talent Aaron Gordon to PF. That would prompt the Blazers to put either Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless, Evan Turner or Meyers Leonard into the mix. Expect Orlando to make a package of their own since Portland wouldn’t likely let go of any of our wings solely for Ibaka. Olshey and fans know how important they are to the future and how well they’ve been playing this season (especially lately).

The Player to Get Us Ibaka

That leaves us with one player that is easily expendable in this situation: Leonard. Let’s face it, the experiment is over. Leonard needs to move due to under-performance. Giving Leonard and a 1st round pick to Orlando would be perfect for both sides. The Blazers would relinquish a bad contract in exchange for a decent contract for a better player. The Magic get a stretch four who can score and potentially fits better in Orlando’s offense. In this scenario, they’d also get a first round pick to boot, and it might be a good one if the Blazers can’t make the playoffs.

Tobias Harris
Tobias Harris /

a season ago for two players who aren’t even on the team anymore, so there is some hope.

Ibaka isn’t the golden nugget Portland was hoping to trade for, but he would be a nice addition nonetheless. A trade here only makes sense if the Blazers give up someone like Leonard. This is due to Ibaka’s contract, which only has half a year left on it. It means the big man could walk this summer.

It will be interesting to see how these next few days/weeks play out before the trade deadline. Hopefully Olshey can work some magic (no pun intended) and Portland could snag Ibaka for cheap.

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