Trade rumors: Miami Heat has Serge Ibaka on their radar
By Frank Urbina
The Miami Heat have a need a power forward. Could they be a planning a trade for Serge Ibaka in order to fill that need?
Despite the Miami Heat’s incredible 12-game win streak, one thing is still very clear: They need an improvement at power forward. James Johnson has been a revelation (averaging 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists over his last six games), but he’s best fit in his role with the second unit. And Luke Babbitt, the team’s starter, is simply limited in what he can do.
So it was interesting to see a potential target pop up in a trade rumor this morning. According to a report by Barry Jackson, Serge Ibaka is on Pat Riley’s radar. In Jackson’s own words:
"Meanwhile, Riley is expected to explore moves before the Feb. 23 trade deadline. One name we’ve been told is on Miami’s radar: Orlando forward Serge Ibaka, an impending free agent for whom the Magic reportedly is willing to consider offers.He has averaged 14.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and shot 38.6 percent on threes and is in his prime at 27. It’s unclear whether the Heat has assets that the Magic wants, or how aggressively Miami will pursue this. But Ibaka intrigues the Heat."
Jackson admits nothing is imminent. Nonetheless, the fact that Riley has his eye on Ibaka is interesting for many reasons.
He’s still just 27 years old, meaning he’s barely entering the prime of his career. Further, he can be a floor-spacer next to Hassan Whiteside, while helping him protect the paint. An Ibaka-Whiteside pairing would be a force defensively.
It’s unclear what it would take to trade for Ibaka before the deadline, or if the Heat would be better served to wait until this summer, when Ibaka becomes a free agent. However, some quick work on the trade machine reveals that some combination of the salaries of Josh McRoberts, Luke Babbitt, Wayne Ellington and Willie Reed could get the deal done.
Any combination would fall short of what the Magic gave up to acquire Ibaka in the first place–Victor Oladipo and this year’s No. 12 pick Domantas Sabonis.
Next: 3 other PFs the Heat could trade for
If the Magic think Ibaka won’t be back in Orlando after the season, though, they might be better off getting what they can, rather than let him walk for nothing.