Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic Deal Looks A Good One

The Orlando Magic and center Nikola Vucevic have come to terms on a four-year deal with reports putting the money involved at between $48-$53 million depending on incentives built into the deal. This is great news for the Magic to get the deal tied up before the season begins, as it ties down a crucial piece to their team going forward.

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Vucevic is a walking double-double, and I still stand by my evaluation that he will be an All-Star in the next three to five years. Let’s look at the deal in the grander scheme of things though, to see if this really was as good a move as most feel it is.

Firstly, and this makes me quite happy to say, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave their own center Nikola Pekovic a five-year, $60 million deal last season. That’s more money than Vucevic with a longer commitment, despite the fact Pekovic missed large chunks of last season through injury.

The plan is to restrict his minutes this year in the hope he doesn’t break down physically once more. Although Pekovic scores about three points more a game than Vucevic when on the court, the Magic center is by far the better rebounding player. His 11 a game last season being much better than Pekovic’s best season, which was 8.8 in 2013-13.

Mar 30, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) celebrates after scoring in the first half against the Toronto Raptors at Amway Center. The Raptors won 98-93. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /

Here’s the thing, the market for centers isn’t that bountiful either. Yes, this is a point guard driven league this year, but there aren’t that many skilled big men out there who can do all the things this guy does. He has such great hands for a big guy, similar to Joakim Noah for the Chicago Bulls in that you can feel confident giving him the ball 15 feet away from the basket.

He can pass out of trouble or move towards the hoop. Get this, Vuvevic ranked 14th in the league on mid-range shots made last year, shooting 44.5 percent. That’s higher than LaMarcus Aldridge (42.2 percent).

Yes, the mid-range game is out of fashion, but to have a center able to do this, it can get a team out of some jams on poor possessions or broken plays. Other than DeMarcus Cousins and Larry Sanders, two players who have seen their fair share of trouble, there just aren’t that many young big men available either.

It’s also hard to see a high caliber center moving teams anytime soon either, although Roy Hibbert may be on the table if the Indiana Pacers decide to change direction as a result of the Paul George injury. So having one as promising as Vucevic for the long term is important.

Another big factor in the signing of Vucevic and why it appears so good on paper is the incoming money as a result of the mammoth television deal recently reached. The salary cap throughout the league will rise in the next two years, although by how much exactly yet we’re not sure.

Nevertheless, even with a conservative guess, it could increase by about $5 million to $8 million. Orlando currently has quite a lot of cap space as it is, so committing the money wasn’t a problem and it made sense. But in two years the market will be inflated, making Vucevic’s projected $12 million be equal to maybe $8 million in today’s market.

For a big man with his skill set? Well that’s a steal.

Of course there are potential dangers to any long term deal, and the red flag here is Vucevic’s health. He only played in 57 games last year as a result of a couple of niggling injuries and a concussion. Yes none of these were long term or pose a threat to his ability to continue to grow, but you do actually have to be on the court to earn your paycheck.

Also if we’re being picky, a guy who spends so much time in the paint needs to get o the free throw line more than 2.4 times a game like he did last year. He’s a 76 percent free throw shooter as well, so he’s capable of punishing teams from there. His defense also needs some work as well, but we haven’t seen him in regular season action yet.

Perhaps he has worked diligently on that area of his game.

I do really love this move though. It’s not entirely surprising however, because the Magic know what a player he could become and wouldn’t have wanted to see him walk away after his rookie contract expired at the end of this year. The key though, is that they weren’t held to ransom and didn’t overpay for his services.

The likes of Pekovic already look to have been given too much when reflected against their actual production, and if anything the argument could be made that Vucevic could have asked for a bit more. I still stand by my statement that this is a top five center in this league sooner rather than later.

So now he is a Magic player for the foreseeable future and what the team hopes will be a return to the playoffs sooner rather than later. Since joining the team in the Dwight Howard trade, he has only won 43 games in a Magic uniform. In a couple of years Orlando will be winning more than 43 games a season, and Vucevic will absolutely be one of the key reasons why.

It wasn’t a surprising move, but it was quickly and quietly executed. Another job well done for general manager Rob Hennigan.

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