Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons why the Lakers could sign Serge Ibaka
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers could sign veteran big man Serge Ibaka.
There are going to be plenty of moving parts this offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers and an unexpected one came into the picture earlier this week. The latest rumor surrounding the Lakers is that the team will target Serge Ibaka in free agency this offseason.
Sean Deveney of Heavy.com was the first to report the potential interest, penning that executives around the league believe that the defending champions will pursue Ibaka.
Does this signing make sense? Does Ibaka really offer more than just another big name on the Los Angeles Lakers? We found four compelling reasons why the Lakers are probably interested in Ibaka, and why they might end up signing him.
1. Serge Ibaka’s playoff experience
This is important. I strongly believe that the Los Angeles Lakers performed so well in the NBA bubble because of their playoff experience. Granted, nobody had experience playing in a bubble, but with the odds stacked against them, they were able to avoid any sort of meltdown.
Both the Los Angeles Clippers — who had not fully meshed as a unit — and the Milwaukee Bucks — who do not have as much playoff experience — crumbled in the second round of the playoffs once the going got tough.
Not the Lakers.
Playoff experience is extremely valuable, especially when it comes in the form of a true role player. Ibaka has as much experience as you could ask for, without being too old (31).
Ibaka has played 144 playoff games in his career — the sixth-most among all active players in the NBA. He won a championship with Toronto and made deep runs, including an NBA Finals loss to LeBron James and the Miami Heat, with the Oklahoma City Thunder.