Orlando Magic: Appreciating Nikola Vucevic again

Nikola Vucevic appears to have a new role with the Orlando Magic, which is why we need to appreciate him all over again.

It would be fair to say that by the end of last season, center Nikola Vucevic‘s time with the Orlando Magic was about to come to an end.

Not only did the $34 million that fellow big man Bismack Biyombo was in line to make for the next two years look immovable, the team had up-and-coming bigs on their team.

Players like the versatile Jonathan Isaac and emerging Khem Birch seemed certain to split minutes with Biyombo. Add in 2018 NBA Draft lottery pick Mohamed Bamba, and it looked like Vucevic was well and truly on his way out of the door.

But then Biyombo was sent to the Charlotte Hornets team in exchange for a player who’s not used to playing in Timofey Mozgov, and Vucevic’s path back to significant minutes opened up once more.

This is why we should re-appreciate all that he can do for this team, both on and off the court, in what could be his final season with the Magic.

Beginning with the obvious, Vucevic is entering the last year of the four-year, $53 million deal he signed with Orlando. Making just under $13 million this coming season, it is easy to see Vucevic being used as an expiring contract in a potential trade with other teams.

Given how cap space is at a premium with most of the franchises who aren’t rebuilding right now, that is a real asset to have.

The Magic also aren’t looking deep at the point guard position either, so the prospect of adding a player to their rotation in exchange for Vucevic is another positive with him still being on the team.

Certainly Biyombo wouldn’t have been as easily movable, especially given that he is non-existent on the offensive end too.

Vucevic may be a poor defender (something we’ll return to in a minute), but offensively he has some nifty moves around the basket, solid passing skills and a shooting touch that is expanding to 3-point territory.

That last point may be the most important of all, as Vucevic more closely resembles a stretch-big with each passing season.

That versatility improves his trade value with teams who may want to get out from under a contract while also looking to re-sign Vucevic to a smaller deal the following year.

That’s all well and good, and a positive development for a Magic team still trying to find their path back to relevancy. But what can he bring to their team while he is still a part of it?

As Orlando’s best player over the last five seasons, a fact that is sad but also tough to argue, Vucevic would be a great mentor to Bamba and Isaac while he is still around.

Isaac only played 27 games for the Magic last season because of injury, and if the team is serious about winning more games, then Vucevic is a good option to have. In his six seasons with the team, Vucevic has appeared in 405 out of a possible 492 games.

Orlando Magic

Last season, he appeared in only 57 games (typing the lowest number he’s played in a Magic uniform for a season) as the result of a broken bone in his hand.

Niggling injuries have been prevalent the last couple of years, but in truth, Vucevic is more durable than you would think — a good quality for a rebuilding team to have.

Returning to the subject of Vucevic’s defensive skills, while there is no question he is poor on that end of the floor and his effort is questionable, the team actually had a better defensive rating (106.5) with Vucevic on the court than with Biyombo (11.4) last year.

If you also factor in how impressive Bamba and Isaac looked together defensively during Summer League, perhaps the team can get away with Vucevic’s deficiencies in that area more than in the past?

Funky lineups including the three aforementioned players would be worth trying out as well, if for no other reason than to throw different groups of five at opponents over the course of the season.

It is easy to forget, but Vucevic is only 27 and has averaged a double-double for the team in four out of his last six seasons.

It is abundantly clear that when he is the best player on the Magic, they are really poor. The case could be made that the stats he’s put up in the past few years have been of the empty variety.

But now that Vucevic actually looks to have some real help in the form of Isaac, Bamba and the re-signed Aaron Gordon, is it not worth seeing what he can bring to the team?

For years now, the idea has been floated that Vucevic’s skill-set would work really well as a sixth man type option. Why not see how that might work?

It looked like Nikola Vucevic’a tenure with the team was going to come to a sad end with him having worn out his welcome with fans eager to move on from his era of leading the team.

But now that the path to some more minutes has been cleared, as well as improved teammates and a new head coach in Steve Clifford around him, could Vucevic become a real asset to the Orlando Magic on the court?

If nothing else, he will at least have the chance to play out one final year for the team, going out on terms closer to what he would’ve liked.

Otherwise, he’ll be traded before the season is finished, and in doing so will help add some more talent to this roster. If that isn’t reason to appreciate Nikola Vucevic again, then what is?