Nikola Vucevic: Grading Extension with Orlando Magic
By Evan Massey
The Orlando Magic have been looking to get an extension done with big man Nikola Vucevic all offseason long, and they were finally able to do so yesterday. Vucevic agreed to a four-year worth $53 million, and will be the Magic’s franchise center for the foreseeable future. There is no doubt that he deserved the deal, and he is one of the most underrated players in the league.
Last season with the Magic, Vucevic ended up playing in and starting 57 regular season games. He averaged 14.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.7 percent from the field. Those numbers are impressive and he has been extremely underrated throughout his career due to playing in Orlando and Philadelphia before that.
Orlando has a very solid team moving forward, and keeping Vucevic around was one that they had to make happen. This deal is an extremely fair agreement for both sides, and the Magic will still have a decent amount of money to work with moving forward. It will be very intriguing to see what type of numbers Vucevic puts up in the near future.
At just 23 years of age, Vucevic is already heading into his fourth NBA season. He has a great amount of experience for a player his age, and has taken steps forward each and every season. Orlando has one of the brightest young centers in the league, and there are still quite a few analysts and fans out there wondering just how good he can become with more experience and more hard work.
Exactly what type of a future does Vucevic have with the Magic moving forward in this four-year contract?
He has the potential to become of the NBA’s best big men, especially on the offensive side of the court. His mid-range game has been improving in a big way over the past couple of years in Orlando, and he has developed a great post game as well. There is still some work that could be done, but he has taken his game to a completely new level so far and has become a very dangerous offensive option.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/22/2014.
Defensively, he could use quite a bit of improvement in order to be the rim protector that Orlando needs him to be. Standing at 7’0″ and weighing in at 250 pounds, he should be able to change shots and record more blocks than he has so far in his career. That is the one area that he needs to make a concerted effort to improve in at this point in time.
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There is absolutely no question that Vucevic will take his game to another level over the next year or two, and that he has the potential to become one of the NBA’s best centers. He already is fairly close to being ranked at that level. It will be very interesting to see what he looks like throughout the course of this season now that he has a big payday.
Expect to see a much improved version of Vucevic and for him to prove that the Magic made the right decision by giving him a large extension.
Extension Grade for Magic, Vucevic: A