
Wonder how OKC fans view the trade, now that we are towards the end of the season.
for Magic fans, we were told Ibaka was declining, lost athleticism, people (not OKC fans) questioning his true age, his one on one defense not as good as people believe, no inside game.
The good - Ibaka has been a great leader in the locker room and probably our most consistent player, has shot the ball from 3 very well. He brought what was asked for by many Magic fans, a 3 pt shooting, help shot blocking PF. after a slow start has rebounded well for the season
the bad - as was mentioned, his athleticism has slowed him down a bit and he cant cover defensively anywhere near like he used to. He still has no inside game and he is hasnt provided the shot blocking we had hoped for.
What did i think of the trade? fit wise on paper, it should have worked. Shot blocking PF next to Vuc, AG with his athleticism staying at SF to provide his defense and develop his offense more.
Why it didnt work - to be honest, i dont believe it was Ibaka's fault. Elf and AG havent taken the jump forward the way fans and the FO thought they would. Ibaka should be no more than the 3rd option, but had to be a 2nd option behind Fournier, another player that should be a 2nd option at best, 3rd option ideally. And then the FO signs Biyombo to provide exactly what they wanted to get from Ibaka. I truly thought AG was going to develop at least an average offensive game watching his summer play for 2 years. But now, even if moved to PF, i dont see him more than an average starting PF, nothing elite or special.
I do wonder what would have happened with Vogel and Forcier coaching with Elf/Dipo/Fournier/AG/Vuc, with Biyombo subbing in for defense. I dont believe Ibaka is going to stay (who would right now), so now Orlando has to get whatever value they can for him in a trade.
i dunno, just some rambling due to a slow day at work, and watching the team have to tank to still find our future star with a bunch of role players currently on it. i truly hope Westbrook is able to finish the season averaging a triple double, would be great to see.