Magic Trade Serge Ibaka To Raptors For Terrence Ross, 2017 First-Round Pick

by Pablo MenaFebruary 15, 2017, 6:56 pmNews >

The Orlando Magic on Tuesday agreed to send power forward Serge Ibaka to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for small forward Terrence Ross and a first-round pick from this year’s draft.

Serge Ibaka Traded to Raptors For Terrence Ross and First-Round Pick

The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the trade.

Ibaka was acquired by Orlando in an offseason trade for Victor Oladipo, who now plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 27-year-old Congolese-Spanish player is in the final year of his contract, and has started 56 of the Magic’s 57 games this season. He is second on he team with 15.1 points per game. He is also averaging 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Ibaka has also improved his shooting, with career-high percentages from both the foul line and the 3-point line.

Ross, meanwhile, has played 53 games off the bench for the Raptors this season, averaging 10.4 points in 22.4 minutes per game.

A little over a month into the season, Ibaka had already understood the downside of attaining what you want, as he struggled to carry the Magic through yet another dismal year.

“I knew in the beginning it wouldn’t be easy,” Ibaka told The Vertical in December. “I’m understanding everything is not perfect right away. I’ve been in a worse situation before than this.”

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has pursued the big man for years, and even tried to steal him from the Thunder last season.

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 02: Serge Ibaka #7 of the Orlando Magic reacts to a missed shot in the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 2, 2017 in New York City.