Totally agree with this. But, if he's (also) looking for the money i think the Kings should be considered a credible destination just because they're probably willin to max the first big name available (and btw Ibaka should also be a pretty damn good fit with Cousins), while i'm not sure you can expect the same from other organizations, especially like the Rockets. As for the Raptors well, they have their own picks and the Clippers 1st for this upcoming draft, young players like Nogueira, Poeltl, Powell, Ross...tbh i can see them being able to trade a better package than us if Ibaka is willin to resign there, at this point they have a set roster, their only weak spot is the 4 (Patterson is also expiring) and they're basically forced to operate over the cap unless Lowry leaves this summer so...
I would caution everyone to not get overly optimistic on Ibaka being some huge defensive game changer. I think he would be a quality addition, but he won't make us a contender. You could look to just last night, with big defensive names like Ibaka / Biyombo, we basically had the red carpet to the basket, with little resistance whatsoever. They could stop a simple Nene/Harden pick and roll....repeatedly.
I can't believe I didn't think of wanting Serge on this team, but it makes perfect, beautiful sense. Imagine the PnR or PnP game with Harden. Imagine the rebounding, and interior defense. I love Ryno, but I would absolutely deal him in a heartbeat. I know we have pipe dreams of a trades that are suggested, but I absolutely pray Morey discusses something in the FO to consider this deal strongly. Serge can run, shoot the 3, and defends. He would thrive playing in MDAs system.
Trade for Serge, bring private ryan off the bench until his shot recovers. He might mesh well with Eric gordon and the bench unit. Still need another wing that can create his own shot and pass. If Lance Stephenson remembered how to play, he would be a good option.
I would caution you that Ibaka plays for the lowly Orlando Magic and all depending on what the Rockets would have to give up for an Ibaka I think he does make the team a contender. With an Ibaka, Ariza and Beverly on the floor they become much better defensively IMO.
The least ibaka can do is tell teams he won't resign which is enough to scare teams away, don't write me an essay explaining details as we all know yes Orlando will trade him to the best offers, well the best offer has to come from ibaka by telling other teams he will resign. Howard had a full year remaining and even then ( Howard was a top 5 player) all they got for him was Elfrid Payton and vuci.
Last I checked, Ibaka did a poor job of deterring shots at the rim (the so-called "Dwight Effect") and also didn't really have a great opponent FG%age at the rim, despite all his blocks. He was an outlier from other reputable shot blockers in that regard.
last night I noticed Serge covering Ariza on the wing for most of the 2nd Qtr. think it speaks to the design of our offense more than Ibaka's declining defensive presence.
Yes, and it is a league-wide strategy to get shot-blockers out of the lane ... hence more 3s. Notice Whiteside in his most mpg of his career has dropped from 3.7 blocks last year to 2.0....which is about where Ibaka was last year -- 1.9.
Ibaka is not going to average 20/15, that's total fantasy man. No one goes from NEVER being able to average 9 rebounds to suddenly picking up 15 rebounds. Not even debatable. He is not a better rebounder than Capela, has never been, and possibly will never be. He is a better rebounder than Anderson, but not 3 times the rebounder!! haha Over here he would get a lot of the same PnR looks Capela would get and that would boost his scoring, but he is not as good a 3pt shooter as Anderson so we would be worse off in terms of spacing. Also important, he is not really bigger than Nene. He is maybe an inch taller, and not as strong, though he is obviously much quicker and a leaper. Doesn't matter much because Nene is a stop gap on a minimum contract, but just to make sure you are keeping your expectations honest. This is a puzzle. If you take away half the spacing Anderson gives you, perhaps we will have a better frontline, but we will also have a less effective backcourt, which is allowing us to beat teams with a good backcourt. Ibaka would be one of the best defenders on this team, that's what interests me. It's pretty clear he's not DPOY material recently, but he is still really good at it. Capela is at least average. My hope is that the pairing can lock up the middle. Ibaka is not going to lock up the middle for a team, otherwise he would be doing it in Orlando where Vucevic can't defend and Biyombo can't score with a tennis ball.
I doubt we are willing to give Orlando enough to be the best offer they will receive. Harrell + Brewer + our 2017 1st rounder (presently #28) does not sound like it would be the best offer. I doubt if Morey offers Decker as part of a potential Ibaka rental.
Ofcourse. Ibaka's defense is not declining, these fools will say anything. If Ibaka was from Europe & looked like DMo they'd be all over getting him. Ibaka is the defensive presence we need. His overall skillset gives us flexibility on defense and maybe a slight spacing disadvantage on offense if we have to give up Anderson. Overrall, he's a better than any of our current bigman. If we can make the numbers work this is a no brainer
If this were true, Durant and him both would be wearing rings and have a Thunderbolt on their jersey. Ibaka is not making anyone a champion. He is, however, an excellent piece on a contender, better than what we have now so he'd definitely worth pursuing.
Does adding Ibaka make the Rockets a better team? I would say yes. Does adding Ibaka make the Rockets better than the Warriors? I would say no. Is Ibaka the player the Rockets want to keep after this season is over? I don't know. I really don't see Ibaka as the final piece needed for the Rockets to be a contender. So, the Rockets may want to hold on to the assets they currently have and wait until this summer to wheel and deal. But, what does Harden want? Would Harden like to see the Rockets bring in one of his old teammates? I don't even know if Harden and Ibaka like each other. But, it's something to think about.
You want to know what elite is...destroying the Spurs 4 games in a row to make it to the Finals (losing to Miami/Lebron), then doing it again last year to the Spurs (3 games in a row) and going up 3-1 to GSW (the 73-win team),,,requiring a choke job by Durant to lose.. The definition of Elite is not just the one team who wins. Right? OKC has owned Popovich and the Spurs in the playoffs in part due to Ibaka.
Absolutely true, but in this thread he is being framed as our Westbrook. He's not that. My post was saying, if Ibaka were the type of player that makes us a favorite for the title right now, then OKC would have gone even further than they went. He's not that. I think he makes us a better team if swapped straight up for Anderson, and we are already a top 4 team, but we would still not be favorites. very important: I'm not discounting the possibility that a 3rd seed can win it all, I'm just debating within the framework of the post I quoted. If we acquired Ibaka for Anderson and we beat the Warriors or Cavs, it would still be considered an upset, and not one I would necessarily bet against. If that makes sense.
I think Ibaka's best contribution would be picking up Clint's man weak side when Clint goes to contest shots. This is where we get beat constantly. Anderson simply has neither the foot speed nor the defensive awareness to recover on this action. @2:45 @3:15 @5:45 @8:10 @4:42 @6:55
I might be crazy, but I think this lineup would be pretty awesome... Harden Ariza Anderson Ibaka Clint
