After winning the 2020 NBA title, the Los Angeles Lakers will aim to defend it in the upcoming season. But they look likely to lose a few key players to Free Agency and will have to bring new reinforcements to stay in the hunt. The latest free agent linked with a move to the Lakers is Raptors center Serge Ibaka.

“From a personnel standpoint, he is exactly the kind of combo big guy that team (the Lakers) needs,” an unnamed NBA general manager told Heavy.com. “They have had an interest in him before and they will again… If he is willing to accept what the Lakers can afford to give him, I know they would want him.”

While the Raptors will hope to keep Ibaka around, they also have Fred VanVleet entering Free Agency. The latter is more important to the team, and so the Congolese big man could be on his way out.

Can the Lakers afford to bring in Ibaka?

The Lakers could potentially lose Markieff Morris and Dwight Howard in Free Agency, so Ibaka will fit in well. Like Morris, Ibaka is also a threat from outside. Last season, he shot an impressive 38% from three with 3.3 attempts per game. And along with that, he is also a very solid defender, which is the perfect skill set the Lakers are looking for.

Ibaka was always a renowned defender, but recently, he has stepped up with his offense too. He scored a career-high 15.4 points per game last season and was a weapon off the bench.

While the Lakers don’t have cap space to sign him directly, they have a mid-level exception of $9 million available. There is a good chance that Ibaka will get better offers, but it is up to him to choose money over a potential second ring. It is also an amazing opportunity to play with two of the best players in the league, Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

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The Lakers should not let Ibaka get away and do their best to sign him. With him on the team, their path to a successive ring will become much easier.