The Oklahoma City Thunder have dealt 26-year old power forward Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for an impressive haul. The Thunder got back 24-year old shooting guard Victor Oladipo, 29-year old power forward Ersan Ilyasova and the #11 overall pick (1st round) of the 2016 NBA Draft (PF/C Domantas Sabonis from Gonzaga)!
Oladipo will move into the starting lineup to give the Thunder a dynamic backcourt on both ends of the floor! Oladipo played in 72 games (52 starts) for the Orlando Magic last year and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 224 games (167 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 33.2 minutes, 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is a 43.1% shooter from the floor, a 33.9% shooter from three point range and a 80.8% shooter from the free throw line so far in his NBA career. Oladipo is a player on the rise and he gives it his all on both ends of the court! Ilyasova will likely replace Ibaka in the starting lineup to start the 2016-17 season. He played in 74 games (56 starts) for the Magic and Pistons last year in which he averaged 25.4 minutes, 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Ilyasova has now played in 527 games (313 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.1 minutes, 10.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He has also played in 17 games (10 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 24.5 minutes, 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Sabonis is 6’10”, 231 pounds. He played in 36 games for Gonzaga last year and he averaged 31.9 minutes, 17.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Sabonis played in 74 games in his two years in college and he averaged 26.6 minutes, 13.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He shot 63.2% from the floor, 35.7% from three point range and 72.9% from the free throw line in college. The Thunder are banking on Sabonis bumping Ilyasova out of the starting lineup in the near future!
Ibaka was a very popular player for the Oklahoma City Thunder! He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Thunder last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Ibaka also played in 18 games (all starts) in the playoffs for the Thunder last year and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Ibaka played in 524 games (413 starts) in his seven years with the Thunder and he averaged 28.8 minutes, 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Ibaka also played in 89 games (83 starts) in his time with the Thunder and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Ibaka finishes his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder as the franchise’s all-time leader in blocked shots with 1,300 of them! He is also #10 in games played (524), #5 in offensive rebounds (1,267), #6 in defensive rebounds (2,608) and #8 in total rebounds (3,875) in Sonics/Thunder history!
The offer the Magic made the Thunder for Ibaka was way too good to refuse. The Thunder have improved immensely with this deal!