NBA Rumors: Could Serge Ibaka be the Miami Heat’s answer at PF?
NBA Rumors: After missing out at the NBA Trade Deadline, could Serge Ibaka emerge as the Miami Heat’s answer at the power forward position?
The good news for the Miami Heat heading into the final push for the playoffs is that it appears the Eastern Conference opened up a bit after the Brooklyn Nets completely blew up their roster at the NBA Trade Deadline.
The bad news is that the Heat didn’t make a move at the deadline themselves and remain with more questions than answers at the power forward position. It’s gotten to the point that the Heat is reportedly open to the possibility of signing recently bought-out Serge Ibaka for the remainder of the season in an attempt to add some depth at the power forward position.
Ibaka, though, has not played much in the last two seasons and has only appeared in 16 games this season, averaging four points and three rebounds per game.
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Ibaka is only 33 years old but has seen a huge drop off in production over the last few years. Part of that is due to injury and part of that is due to differing roles. Nevertheless, it’s fair to say that Ibaka no longer moves the needle at this point in his carer.
Could he still be a useful player that could add depth to a playoff team, sure? But to expect a player that has not played much in the last two seasons to suddenly jump into a playoff rotation would be quite the challenge for Ibaka.
Either way, it would be a surprise to no one if this is a move that ended up happening. Ibaka is looking for a place where he can showcase that he could still play and the Heat may be the one team that could give him that relevance (and role) that he could be looking for at this point in his career.
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Would it be the best move for Miami? Unlikely. In fact, there’s not even a given that he would play big minutes for the team. However, looking at the landscape of what is available at this point in the season for the Heat, they may not have any other options. That said, expecting Ibaka to come in an attempt to save the day is quite the tough look for this once proud franchise.