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Magic GM hopes to retain impending UFA Ibaka

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Trading the farm for Serge Ibaka was never a short-term play.

Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan hinted strongly at retaining Ibaka when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer during an interview with Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

"We value Serge a great deal. He's been really good for us, and he's certainly someone that we hope is in our future," Hennigan said.

The Magic shipped out former No. 2 pick Victor Oladipo, the 11th pick of the 2016 draft (used on Domantas Sabonis), and Ersan Ilyasova to the Thunder for the Congolese shot-blocker last summer. The team promptly installed him as a core piece on both sides of the floor, resulting in a career year for the soon-to-be free agent.

Ibaka holds averages of 15.2 points, seven rebounds, and 1.6 blocks while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from deep. His strong performance likely earned him a huge payday come July.

Hennigan acknowledged the chance Ibaka could walk and leave the floundering Magic with nothing, but he called that a "calculated risk."

Despite dramatically reshaping the roster in the offseason with additions like Ibaka, Hennigan's squad remains mediocre. Orlando sits 10 games under .500 for 12th in the East. That may lead to even more win-now moves for the wayward franchise.

"We have to go into the trade deadline looking to improve the team by any means necessary," Hennigan said. "So we're not in a position with our team right now to not explore and listen to any ideas or concepts that come our way or that we inquire about. So the goal's to improve the team any way we can."

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