Raptors' Serge Ibaka: Traded to Toronto

Ibaka was traded to the Raptors on Tuesday in exchange for Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Analysis:

The Raptors have been in the market for an upgrade at power forward for several months, and they finally found their man in Ibaka, a player Toronto GM Masai Ujiri has long admired. With Patrick Patterson (knee) missing the last handful of games, the Raptors have been rotating in a number of options as their starting power forward, but Ibaka should hold down a spot on the top unit and dominate the minutes at the position even once Patterson is healthy again. In his first season with the Magic, Ibaka averaged of 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.5 three-pointers and 1.1 assists in 30.5 minutes per game, while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three-point range. The 27-year-old is in the final year of his four-year, $48 million contract, but it appears the Raptors intend to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent this summer, according to Wojnarowski. Even if the Raptors aren't able to retain Ibaka, his acquisition surely helps the team's chances of giving the Cavaliers a bigger challenge if the two teams ends up meeting in the postseason. It seems rather unlikely that Ibaka will join the Raptors in Chicago in time to play Tuesday against the Bulls, but he could be ready to make his team debut Wednesday at home against the Spurs, in Toronto's final game before the All-Star break.