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Hennigan Chats About Trade, Free Agency and More

Dan Savage
Director of Digital News

By Dan Savage

June 24, 2016

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic made an extremely aggressive move on draft night, dealing Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis in order to acquire Serge Ibaka from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan hopped on ESPN Afternoons with Scott Anez on Friday to talk about the trade, Ibaka’s potential impact, fan reaction, free agency and more.

Here’s their conversation:

Scott: You had me all over the map yesterday. He’s going to take (Denzel) Valentine. He’s going to take (Skal) Labissiere. He’s going to move up to take Buddy Hield. He’s going to take Kris Dunn. You flummoxed me, so I commend you for that boss man. Way to go pal.

Rob: Well, thank you Scott. I love the energy and the vigor this afternoon.

Scott: I got to tell you. Now for the folks who are just tuning in, what happened last night was this, you trade the (Domantas) Sabonis pick at 11, along with Victor Oladipo, who I know you hate giving up and I do too, Ersan Ilyasova for Serge Ibaka of OKC. From 30,000 feet, if you will, generalize for me, why make this deal, Rob?

Rob: Well, for a few reasons, Scott. First and foremost, I think it’s been no secret that we’ve been trying to fortify our interior and really trying to find some athleticism, some toughness, some physicality in the middle. Someone who can protect the paint and be a real presence to help protect the rim for us. We just felt like Serge with his age and his skillset and his experience, he’s a rare player, who can really defend and block shots, but can also stretch the floor. We felt like his fit and what he brings to our team really helps balance the roster. While it was extremely difficult to trade Victor, who means so much to us and the community and really one of the first building blocks of this rebuild, often times to get something really good, you have to give up something really good. If there was any one area of the roster where we felt there was a little bit of a logjam, it’s at the wing and that two guard spot. Because we have Evan (Fournier) and because we have Mario (Hezonja), we just felt like this was a really good opportunity to address a glaring need for us.

Scott: Let’s kind of take it in pieces now that we’ve looked 30,000 feet. First off, Victor. I know, like you said, you have to give up something to get something in this league. With that said, he’s been here three years, he was kind of known as a cornerstone of the rebuild. How difficult was it to give up a Victor Oladipo in this deal, Rob?

Rob: Well, it was extremely difficult, Scott, because Victor stands for everything we want to be about as an organization. His character, his work ethic, he gets it. He’ll be missed. He’ll be missed on the floor; he’ll be missed in the community. It was not easy at all. Like I said, it really came down to how are we going to be able to address the needs we need to address? As we canvassed free agency, we didn’t feel like there was someone like Serge, who could address a lot of the needs we felt like we needed to address immediately to get in the playoffs next year.

Scott: I know you’ve already talked about what Serge Ibaka brings to the table. Not only is it what you have on the floor, is it off the floor in the locker room as well? With him being sort of a dynamic type of guy and a guy who can come in and take a leadership role right away, Rob?

Rob: Absolutely. Yeah, we look at this multipronged. It’s one of those situations where I think Serge’s play on the floor speaks for itself. At the same time, he is a solid, strong voice in the locker room and a presence, someone who’s going to lead by example and I think really help rally our young crew and help sort of set the tone for what we want to be about and really continuing to up the ante on the defensive end of the floor.

Scott: I was on social media all night – and that’s a very scary thing for me, but I did it all night last night, actually had a good time with it, but some Magic fans last night, Rob, thinking that this was too much. Like these three players, Ilyasova and the No. 11 pick and Victor Oladipo, too much to give away for a Serge Ibaka. Your response to that, Rob?

Rob: Well, I think that it’s great that our fans are so passionate and opinionated. I think that’s what makes sports fun and rooting for a team fun. It’s funny, when we have certain players, oftentimes it’s ‘well they’re not good enough’ and then as soon as you trade them all of sudden it’s ‘why did you trade them.’

Scott: (Laughter) That is the truth. That is the truth. That’s exactly right. Yes.

Rob: We get it. We understand it. We’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team. And again, we really feel like not only does Serge address a need for us, but it helps balance our roster out. And we’re really, really high on Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja given what they can do and how they can fill that void that Victor has left now. We feel good about the trade and I think our fans will too in time.

Scott: Sometimes you can’t win as an NBA GM. What about another thing I hear, about the concerns about Serge Ibaka’s numbers both offensively and defensively slipping over the last year? Are you concerned about that, Rob?

Rob: No, we’re not. Oftentimes, those type of things are relative and we have a lot of confidence and are very sure of the fact that Serge is entering the prime of his career. He has a host of playoff experience – I think he’s played in close to 90 playoff games – and he’s about to turn 27. We think his best basketball years are ahead of him. We’re hoping and expecting that they’re going to be here in Orlando.

Scott: With you having been in the Thunder front office when Ibaka was drafted back in the day, Rob, did that give you a sense of familiarity, perhaps making it easier to pull the trigger on a deal like this?

Rob: Well, it certainly helps when you have a relationship to the player and you have a relationship with the organization you’re making a trade with. So absolutely, it just gives you another layer of – not certainty, because nothing is certain – but you have a real familiarity and understanding of who Serge is, what he’s about, his work ethic and his behavior off the floor and on the floor. So you really have a full picture to rely on rather than trying to do guesswork or get secondhand information. Yeah, it certainly helped.

Scott: Rob, what about Serge Ibaka’s contract? He’s slated to become a free agent after next season. That’s another concern that people have about this deal, that you get a guy who may not be here in a couple of seasons. Do you have any reservations about that oncoming free agency with Ibaka?

Rob: No, no, not really. We think that will take care of itself. What’s important is for Serge to come in here and get settled and situated and help lead us to the playoffs. Yeah, Serge is going to be a free agent next year, so was Victor. It’s one of those deals where we’re comfortable with it and we’re excited about it.

Scott: What does this deal, Rob, do to the lineup now? Because Victor’s now in OKC. Does that make it imperative now that you’re up against it going out and making Evan Fournier a Magic man this offseason. I know he’s a restricted free agent. What does this do for the rest of the lineup now?

Rob: We feel like it adds even more versatility. Serge can play both big positions. We have Aaron Gordon, who can play both the three and the four. So, he may see a little more time at three, but certainly still play some four. You’ve got Evan and Mario, who can play two and three. And of course, we’re going to continue to add in free agency this summer. If anything, we feel like it adds to our versatility and certainly Evan is a huge priority for us this summer. We’ve said that since the season has ended. And yeah, he’ll be back here with us for sure.

Scott: Great segue. Free agency, it starts next week. Will you be active still, even though this deal is done now? Will you be active in free agency, Rob?

Rob: Absolutely, we will, Scott. Absolutely, we will. This is a good start. I think last night was a good start for our offseason. We still have some things we’re going to look to address. And we feel confident we’ll be able to do so. Yeah, absolutely, we’re going to be aggressive.

Listen to the entire conversation here.