NBA Trade Rumors: Toronto Raptors interested in Serge Ibaka

With the NBA trade deadline now two weeks away, the list of suitors for Serge Ibaka keeps growing.

The Orlando Magic are clearly sellers as the NBA trade deadline approaches, with a 20-34 record entering Thursday night and seven losses in their last 10 games to diminish any slim chance at playoff contention. Multiple players could be dealt, but forward Serge Ibaka seems to be Magic player grabbing the most interest from other teams.

The Houston Rockets and the Miami Heat have been rumored to have some interest in Ibaka just this week, joining a few other teams that may be seeking a big man in a trade. The Toronto Raptors are falling down the Eastern Conference standings a bit, with a 4-6 record on their last 10 games as part of ongoing struggles since the calendar flipped to 2017, and they could use an upgrade at power forward.

As part of his piece about teams other than the Cavaliers and Clippers that could trade for Carmelo Anthony, Marc Spears of The Undefeated reported the Raptors have interest in Ibaka.

Coming into Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Ibaka his averaging 15.2 points (a career-high), 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists per game. He is also making a career-best 38.5 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc, converting 1.5 three-pointers per game as well.

The Raptors entered Thursday night’s action 25th in the league in defensive rebounding rate, and Ibaka. with only center Jonas Valanciunas in the top-75 in the league in defensive rebounds per game. Ibaka is averaging 5.2 defensive boards per game, which puts him in the top-50 of the league in that category.

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Having an expiring contract also makes Ibaka a very attractive trade target, apart from the numbers he’s putting up so far this season, since he can be a rental player for playoff contenders. The Raptors fit that bill, but they will have competition for Ibaka’s services.