Nick Nurse Reveals Thoughts About Serge Ibaka Leaving Raptors For Clippers

Nurse was a huge fan of Serge Ibaka

Nick Nurse loved coaching Serge Ibaka on the Raptors, and seeing him leave to the Clippers was a big blow for the team. Nurse and the Raptors were disappointed they didn't get a chance to keep him on the team.

“I certainly was, for sure," Nurse said. "I think our team was. I think our organization was. You heard everything I just said. I was planning on him being back and keeping that core together as much as possible. It doesn’t always work out. It’s tricky.”

Despite losing Serge Ibaka, Nick Nurse won't forget about how much he loved coaching him. Nurse considered Ibaka a very special player that he could plug into any situation. The big man is also able to bring out a fun side in Kawhi Leonard that very few people can.

“I was a huge fan of his," Nurse said. "I saw pretty early on that there were moments when he really got going that he was a special player. There were runs in games where he was blocking shots, blocking shots, and all of a sudden nobody was driving. He’s grabbing rebounds. He’s knocking down a mid-range. Then he’s knocking down a 3. He’s making shots in the fourth. Once I kind of saw that, I was like, ‘I’ve got to figure out how to get this guy on the floor and keep him on the floor.’ You know how it is. You’ve got Gasol at the five. You’ve got Siakam playing unbelievable at the four. All of a sudden it’s like where does he fit? Well, let’s make him fit both places. Let’s give him backup minutes at the four, backup minutes at the five.”

The Clippers still don't know when Serge Ibaka is going to return from injury, but he's traveling with the team. Ibaka has been out since March 15 with a "sore back".

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