LA Clippers rumors: Did Serge Ibaka just tell Twitter he wants to be traded?

Serge Ibaka and the LA Clippers have had an awkward relationship this season.

When he came back from the G-League, we knew he would need some time to get right. But, he was showing signs of improvement, and then the most recent Sacramento loss happened. He was yanked at halftime, as the Clippers decided to go small in the second half to get a little more athletic and quick so they could keep up with Sac Town.

He would be back, though, right? Well, not exactly, and he actually has not played in each of the next four games, even with Paul George and Nicolas Batum missing time in there. Many are trying to figure out whether he’s being benched for good, being prepared to be traded, or out due to health and safety protocols.

Recently, he had a close contact test positive for COVID-19, which is why he took a COVID-19 test at the beginning of the game and wasn’t sitting with the team at the start of the contest against the Suns. He had to have tested negative, as if not, he wouldn’t have been able to sit on the bench with the squad.

A puzzling part of this is that this has all been reported by Law Murray and The Athletic, but Ibaka is not on the Clippers’ injury report. Ibaka was listed as out for the contest due to personal reasons, and not due to health and safety protocols. Something’s up here, and it looks like some big news may end up dropping soon.

Serge Ibaka now may have shown that he wants to be traded away from the LA Clippers.

As if things couldn’t have gone any crazier than they have between Serge Ibaka and the LA Clippers, he liked a Tweet about getting traded:

For what it’s worth, it very well could have been an accident. After all, he did undo his like on that Tweet. It is true, however, that players all over the league are now being speculated and rumored to being traded.

With the lack of tradeable picks that the Clippers have right now, the team will have to trade role players if they’re looking to buy at the deadline. Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, Serge Ibaka, Marcus Morris Sr., and Luke Kennard are the guys who make the most sense as trade chips. Zubac and Kennard have stepped up quite a bit this year, Morris looks much better as of late, and Mann is still a budding star.

It looks like Ibaka may be the odd man out here. He hasn’t played much this year, and seems to have possibly been purposefully scratched without health issues for a few games recently, regardless of if he was really out on Monday due to health and safety protocols or not.

This season hasn’t gone the way Ibaka wanted it to. He’s played in 11 games, and played just 14 minutes per game (career-low). Averaging 4.3 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per contest, Ibaka is shooting just 36.2% from the field.

It’s tough to see it end like this, but it may be best for Ibaka to look elsewhere when it comes to finishing his season.