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Orlando Magic: 3 reasons not to trade Nikola Vucevic

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic controls the ball in front of Nerlens Noel #3 of the New York Knicks as Elfrid Payton #6 of the New York Knicks and Michael Carter-Williams #7 of the Orlando Magic play on at Amway Center on February 17, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic controls the ball in front of Nerlens Noel #3 of the New York Knicks as Elfrid Payton #6 of the New York Knicks and Michael Carter-Williams #7 of the Orlando Magic play on at Amway Center on February 17, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

2. The roster takes a step back

It is really easy when you follow a decent team to quickly forget how bad things used to be. Sports fans are fickle in this sense, they want their team to be perfect all of the time, forgetting that in most team sports there can only be one overall winner each year. Right now that describes a lot of Magic fans, who are questioning the direction of the franchise after two postseason berths.

Yes, it would be great to go further than the first round, and no it doesn’t look like the roster as currently constructed (and with injuries to key young players) will be able to do so. But if Vucevic were traded, and assuming no superstar was coming back which seems the most likely outcome, the Magic would take a very real step back.

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If trying to make it to the playoffs each year is boring you, then your memory of the Rob Hennigan years must have been wiped entirely. Not only was the product on the floor bad, but there were also terrible decisions being made behind the scenes. The kind that saw Oladipo and Tobias Harris leave, with short-term stopgaps like Ibaka and Brandon Jennings moving on quickly.

We are seeing it this season as well. With injuries to Isaac and Markelle Fultz, as well as to rookie Cole Anthony, tanking the year for another high draft pick became the obvious direction to take. This despite wasting an amazing Vucevic year, and with a head coach in Steve Clifford who doesn’t seem to like this approach. He gets his guys to compete every game.

But it is easy to sell fans on one year of this, especially when there are a fraction of usual bodies in the stands as well. If you take Vucevic away from this group, there are zero guarantees that they’ll take a bigger step forward once they’ve taken the step back that will most certainly happen.

If anything the Magic should wait and see what they have with Vucevic, Isaac and Fultz as their core because early indicators before Fultz went down were exciting. Vucevic finally has help on a meaningful level here, so why move him without giving everybody the opportunity to see what they could become? The alternative is uncertainty, something to move away from.

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