Magic make Nikola Vucevic available

Having spent the past six years with the Orlando Magic, Nikola Vucevic has had a place to call a permanent home. After a quiet rookie year in Philly, he became an immediate starter after being traded to the Magic. He has been a double-double machine and reliable option. He added the three-ball to his arsenal last year, as saw him improve further. Rumor has it he is now available on the trade market as the team looks to give the center spot to Mo Bamba moving forward.

Any team looking to trade for Vucevic would be acquiring a guy ready to contribute to any situation. A free-agent at season’s end, the soon-to-be 28-year-old has had an impressive run in Orlando. He averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds per game in his first year and has averaged a double-double in three of his five other years as a starter. He has played 74+ games three times, and just recently started knocking down the three, hitting 1.1 per game last year, shooting at a 31.4% clip.

His numbers peaked during the 2014-15 season when he was a borderline All-Star, posting totals of 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He was a force to be reckoned with who just missed getting in to the midseason classic. In 405 career games for the Magic, he has scored 6,463 pts, and grabbed 4,477 rebounds. Even when the team paid Bismack Biyombo $72 million on a free-agent deal, the team decided to stick with Vucevic, showing just how loyal to the Switzerland-born big man they are.

A trade before the season isn’t definitive, and should he be here on day one, he will remain in his starting role. He is a great player to mentor Mo Bamba. A very talented big man, one thing he will give Orlando though that Vucevic didn’t, is constant rim protection. He averaged better than a block per game in his Orlando tenure, but Vucevic is not a very good rim protector. The athleticism of Bamba is something that will be on display from day one.

With a new coach in Steve Clifford, a new chapter begins. The Magic have struggled to win for a long time, failing to make the playoffs even a single time since Dwight Howard was traded to the Lakers. They are hoping that Bamba, along with Jonathan Isaac can help lead the team back into postseason play in the next few years. So, they need to get the starting spot for Bamba opens by moving Vucevic.

Some teams that could look into adding Vucevic’s expiring contract:

– Clippers (Gortat is their starter)
– Hawks (Dewayne Dedmon is their starter)
– Kings (Willie Cauley-Stein is their starter)
– Lakers (They’ve got JaVale McGee)
– Heat (Unhappy with Whiteside)

Watch for more rumors on Vucevic, as we should expect him to be a hot commodity as the year draws near. He has the ability to improve many teams around the league.