Reaction: Oklahoma City Thunder Trade Serge Ibaka To Orlando Magic

When the report came out that the Oklahoma City Thunder were "shopping Serge Ibaka," I didn't think much of it. Maybe they were picking up the phone and listening to calls, but Ibaka was a core member of the team and there was no way that Sam Presti was going to trade him just to get into the first round of a weak draft. If the team was going to depart with Ibaka, they would have to get back a player that could immediately help and the only player that appeared available and a fit for OKC was Jimmy Butler and Ibaka alone wasn't going to be enough to pry him out of Chicago.

Then the news broke. Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladip, Ersan Ilyasova, and Domantas Sabonis (the 11th pick in this year’s draft).

Just over a week before the biggest day in Thunder history and Presti once again flashed his brass balls for the world to see.

If Kevin Durant stays, this becomes an outstanding trade. While Ibaka showed his value during the playoffs, he's also shown to be on the decline during the past couple of seasons. He's a step slower, his rim protection isn't quite as needed with the emergence of Steven Adams, and he's been moved out of the paint thanks to Adams and Enes Kanter. On offense, Ibaka had become a stretch four who stood in the corner for eight minutes waiting for his shot. And is his shot didn't come, he began to lack effort and focus on the defensive end. Oladipo is a legitimate two-way guard with room to grow, Ilyasova can play the stretch four role, and Sabonis is another big body with strong low-post and rebounding skills.

If Durant leaves, the Thunder is still a better team than they would've been with Ibaka, but it'll lead everyone to believe that this move upset KD, even if he denies otherwise. Since the trade, reports have come out that Ibaka’s relationship with Durant and Russell Westbrook had become strained over the year. Anyone who watched the team could see Ibaka growing frustrated with his decreased role. He publically said as much following an eight-game win streak in which OKC was playing their best basketball of the regular season.

Whether it sways Durant one way or the other remains to be seen, but there's no denying that Presti is preparing for either situation. If Durant stays, OKC has a ton of lineup possibilities and could run a lot of teams off the floor with a Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Durant, and Adams lineup. Even a Westbrook, Oladipo, Durant trio becomes a scary thought. If Durant leaves, Presti has left the team in a better position that would still allow them to be competitive while also starting a small rebuild.

I have a hard time believing that KD didn't somehow know this was a possibility. Presti isn't afraid to take risks, but he's not a dumb risk taker. If he knew that this trade was the equivalent of showing Durant the door, there's no way he makes it. This trade hopefully slams the door shut for Durant and keeps him in OKC. If he looked at the team yesterday and looks at the team today, Thunder fans would hope that Durant sees the improvement. That he sees a better team than the one that was one win away from the NBA Finals.

But maybe the unknown scares Durant. He knew what the team had with Ibaka. He knew that they could compete with Ibaka on the floor. Even though the team looks improved on paper, there’s still a certain amount of mystery surrounding the three new players on the team. OKC had a distinct identity and advantage with Ibaka. The problem is, that identity wasn’t good enough and isn’t really the way to win in today’s NBA. Guard play is paramount nowadays and there’s no question that OKC just drastically improved their guard play.

Durant has stated throughout this entire process that this is about basketball, not money, for him. Presti made a basketball move. A risky move, but a basketball move nonetheless.