5 trades to help Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons finish their wall
By John Buhler
Serge Ibaka
Power Forward, Orlando Magic
What were the Orlando Magic thinking in trading for Serge Ibaka on an expiring contract? They wanted another big for new head coach Frank Vogel to split finite minutes with? Ibaka may like Central Florida, but he’ll win more in Detroit and get to be part of a wall.
Van Gundy cut his teeth on defense as a coach. He’d be getting an outstanding rim protector at the power forward position in Ibaka. While he could clog the paint with center Andre Drummond, Ibaka has noticeable range as a shooter. He could play outside of the paint on offense and rim protect on defense. Ibaka is also mobile enough to defend in space and pair with Drummond.
Van Gundy has shown over the years that he will overpay to keep a player he likes. He’d get an opportunity to see what Ibaka can offer pre-sale this summer. Van Gundy can kick the tires on Ibaka to see if he really is Pistons Wall material. He can still go vertical, but can he still cover the territory required to keep opposing stretch fours from going off?
The Magic need shooting, so maybe Caldwell-Pope and Aron Baynes of Boban Marjanovic for salary filler in exchange for Ibaka straight up could work? Although Caldwell-Pope has been Detroit’s most reliable player this season, so Detroit may need something else was well. Both Caldwell-Pope and Ibaka are hitting free agency this upcoming summer any way. Orlando gets graciously smaller and Van Gundy gets one step closer to forming his wall.