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Ibaka 'never asked to be traded,' but excited to join Magic

Gary A. Vasquez / USA TODAY Sports

Serge Ibaka was blindsided when he found out he was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Orlando Magic on draft night.

The 26-year-old Congo native was having dinner in Paris on June 23 when his phone blew up with messages regarding trade rumors. So convinced that they were nothing more than rumors, Ibaka turned off his phone for the rest of the night.

He learned from his manager the next day the speculation was true: He was on his way out of OKC.

There had been rumblings that Ibaka was disgruntled over his diminishing role on offense and planned to leave when the opportunity arose, but he denies them.

"I never asked to be traded, even though there was a lot of media conjecture that I was unhappy with my role," he wrote for SI.com.

"I let my agent deal with the business side of things. I just focus on basketball. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to go in and ask for a trade, and I would have been happy staying with the Thunder. Playing in the NBA was my dream, and I'd be happy playing anywhere."

The 6-foot-10 power forward thanked the passionate hoop fans in Oklahoma City, where he played the first seven seasons of his pro career. However, he expressed sorrow over not being able to win a title despite a roster that included him, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.

"I'm disappointed that our group was never able to bring the city a championship, but I had some great times there, and so many moments I'll never forget."

The Thunder made several deep playoff runs over their short existence, and came three wins shy of capturing the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2012. Putting all that behind him now, Ibaka's looking forward to getting a fresh start on the East Coast.

"I feel like a rookie again," he wrote. "I'm thrilled to be in Orlando. I know that might sound crazy to some people, that I'm excited to go from a contender like the Thunder to a rebuilding team ... but playing now for Frank Vogel, a coach who prides himself on defense, is very exciting for me.

"We have a core of like-minded, young, athletic players, which is going to be very fun. We are an old-school, smashmouth team, and I can't wait to don a Magic uniform on opening night."

Ibaka plans to capitalize on this opportunity and return to the All-Defensive first-team form he's strayed from over the past two campaigns. He averaged 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 2015-16.

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