Nikola Vucevic, Magic Reportedly Agree to Contract, Full Details Amid NBA Free Agency

Nikola Vučević has reportedly found his new home.

The Orlando Magic and the big man agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal on Wednesday, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

It isn't particularly surprising he didn't re-sign with the Boston Celtics even though they acquired him via trade from the Chicago Bulls last season. After all, they benched him in Game 7 of the team's first-round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with head coach Joe Mazzulla deciding to start Luka Garza and rely on Neemias Queta in a secondary role.

"I thought that Vooch gave us all that he had and, did what we asked, and it was a hard matchup," president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters. "I have a lot of respect for Vooch as a person and as a pro. I thought he was really good in our locker room. I thought he was a really good person to have around. Certainly, a positive experience with him."

76ers-Celtics Highlights

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While the benching made the most headlines, Vučević struggled in the first six games against the 76ers and averaged 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from deep.

He was better in 16 regular-season games for the Celtics when he averaged 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 34 percent from deep.

Still, even those numbers were a far cry from when he was a two-time All-Star earlier in his career. Vučević was seemingly an automatic double-double every time he stepped on the floor when he was with the Orlando Magic from 2012-13 until they traded him to Chicago during the 2020-21 campaign.

Between the two teams during that 2020-21 season, he averaged 23.4 points and 11.7 rebounds a game while shooting 40 percent from deep.

Yet he will be 36 years old during the 2026-27 season. Orlando knows not to expect production like that and didn't add him with the expectation he would suddenly be a 20-10 guy who drills 40 percent of his three-point attempts again like he was at one point.

Ideally for Orlando, Vučević can provide solid frontcourt depth and veteran leadership for a team with championship aspirations. He is never going to be a defensive stopper, especially at this point of his career, but he can extend his game beyond the arc and give opposing defenses a different look off the bench.

If he does that and shoots at a better clip than he did in his most recent playoffs, this could be a worthwhile decision even if last season didn't end how he wanted.