The Toronto Raptors will be keeping at least one of their major free agents this summer.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who the Raptors traded for at the deadline in 2017, will sign 3-year, $65 million deal to remain in Canada.
Toronto originally swapped Terrence Ross and a 2017 first round draft pick to obtain Ibaka from the Orlando Magic. The Magic would go on to trade that pick, the 25th in the draft, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Oklahoma City’s 2020 first round pick and the worst of Brooklyn or New York’s 2020 second rounders.
The Raptors will apparently try to move Cory Joseph in order to make the salaries work now that Ibaka has signed his deal.
Via Adrian Wojnarowski and others:
Source: Free agent forward Serge Ibaka has reached deal on three-year, $65M contract to stay with the Toronto... https://t.co/ATpQCWXQ36
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2017
To create adequate space, Toronto in discussions with Indiana on trading Cory Joseph, league sources tell ESPN. @MikeAScotto first.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2017
No options in that Serge Ibaka deal, I'm told. https://t.co/iMHdHh4Fw4
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) July 2, 2017
With Ibaka returning to the Raptors one has to wonder what this means for Kyle Lowry. It’s hard to think that Masai Ujiri would want to run this team back without one of its best players. Could Lowry be the next domino to fall?
Toronto’s salary is inflating, and combined with DeMar DeRozan’s contract, signing Lowry could mean moving some other players, including DeMarre Carroll or Jonas Valanciunas.