Nikola Vucevic Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation Surrounding Magic Star

Nikola Vucevic has watched his role with the Orlando Magic shrink throughout the 2016-17 season, and at least one Eastern Conference team has reportedly called about a potential trade for the 26-year-old center. 

Continue for updates. 

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Celtics Doing Homework on Vucevic

Friday, Jan. 27

According to CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely, the Celtics have had preliminary discussions with the Magic regarding a trade for Vucevic. However, Blakely was quick to note "no deal is imminent" with just under a month remaining until the Feb. 23 trade deadline. 

A year after Vucevic averaged 18.2 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field, the USC product has suffered a minor statistical backslide. 

Through 44 appearances, Vucevic is averaging 13.8 points and 9.8 rebounds on 47.3 percent shooting from the field in 28.1 minutes per game, which is a 3.2-minute decrease from last season.  

However, some of the factors behind Vucevic's dip in effectiveness have been out of his control. The Magic acquired both Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to bolster their front line over the offseason, and Vucevic has subsequently been forced to adapt with the logjam siphoning off some of his minutes. 

That said, Vucevic still has plenty to offer if he's afforded the time and space to operate as an offensive focal point. 

The sixth-year big has a strong mid-range face-up game, evidenced by his 49.5 percent conversion rate on shots between 10 and 16 feet this season, and he can be effective in the post with quick jump hooks and turnaround jumpers if he's afforded time to operate on the low blocks. 

Vucevic is also an attractive trade target from a financial perspective since he's under team control through the 2018-19 season at $12.2 million next year and $12.7 million in the final year of his four-year, $53 million deal. 

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com. Contract information retrieved from Spotrac.com.