For the second NBA off-season in a row, the Raptors have lost a player they wanted to keep to the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to reports, Serge Ibaka has decided to join the Clippers – the same team that wrested Kawhi Leonard away from Toronto in 2019 – on a two-year, $19-million US contract. The deal, according to both ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of the Athletic, also includes a player option in second season.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster had met with Ibaka, the 30-year-old centre/forward who played 2 ½ seasons in Toronto, on Saturday, hours after they had come to terms with free agent Fred VanVleet on a four-year, $85-million deal to keep him in a Raptors uniform.