Before Kevin Durant left for the Warriors, some around the league thought that the Thunder traded Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic on draft night in an attempt to clear the locker room of a perceived discontent who didn’t necessarily get along with the marquee stars in Oklahoma City. Ibaka denied that account, but did so with some interesting language. See for yourself:
I never asked to be traded, even though there was a lot of media conjecture that I was unhappy with my role. I had an exit meeting with Billy Donovan and Sam Presti after the season, and both went well. But this is still a business, everybody has to do what’s best for them, and I let my agent deal with the business side of things. I just focus on basketball. I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to go in and ask for a trade, and I would have been happy staying with the Thunder.
On the surface, that’s exactly what you’d expect a recently departed player to say. But Ibaka stopped noticeably short of saying he was happy with the Thunder — only that he would have been happy to stay and that he didn’t ask for a trade (which seems like a pointed mention). It’s not the out-and-out denial it could have been, is what we’re saying.
Ibaka is now the highest-profile player on the Magic, which he seems excited about, but he’s part of a stuffed frontcourt on a strangely-assembled roster. Will being the big fish in a small-but-crowded pond lose its luster without bigger stars to help him find success? Only time will tell.
(Via The Cauldron)
