The Orlando Magic have been re-building for a while now, ever since all-star center Dwight Howard left the team in 2012. Nikola Vucevic replaced the dominant big man in Orlando and has done a decent job for the club. Vucevic, who was involved in the trade that took Dwight Howard away from Orlando, was seen as a throw in piece, and has now into a good solid big man in the NBA.
The news coming out of Orlando indicates that Nikola Vucevic will soon sign a new deal with the Magic. Proving that the big man from Switzerland, who attended USC, is here to stay in the NBA, and in Orlando specifically. The new deal is reportedly worth $53 million over fouryears, and is another step in Orlando’s re-building process.
Vucevic deserves the deal as he is clearly the Magic’s best rebounder, and will once again be in the mix for the NBA’s leading rebounder this season. He pulled down an average 11 rebounds a game last season. He also the Magic some much needed scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game last season. With newly drafted Elfrid Payton helping, that scoring average should only go upwards. Payton could very well make a run at rookie of the year with the pieces around him, and his influence on the offence.
Vucevic is one of only five players in the NBA who averaged at least 10 rebounds during last year, joining Kevin Love, Joakim Noah, Zach Randolph and Dwight Howard. Thats not exactly bad company for the big man to be in. Vucevic is clearly a valuable player to the Magic and getting this deal done and settled before the start of the season, is good for both player and team.
The Orlando Magic have a young and improving team, that will still need time to get to where they want to be, but they are my team to watch in two to three years’ time in the NBA. We’re talking about a team that could have a starting line-up of Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon and of course Nikola Vucevic. In three seasons time they will be a feared team in the Eastern Conference.
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