Magic's Jeff Weltman: ORL Has 'No Designs' on Potential Nikola Vucevic Trade
The Orlando Magic have no current plans to trade veteran center Nikola Vucevic as he enters a contract year, according to their president of basketball operations.
When asked about a potential trade involving Vucevic by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Jeff Weltman shot down the notion that anything is in the works:
"We have no designs on trading anyone right now. That's something that we'll worry about later. Vooch is a high-quality player and an even higher-quality person. He's very valuable to our team today, and he's very valuable to what we want to be about going forward. So I wouldn't even entertain those thoughts yet. We just hope to have a good season. We want to make progress, obviously, in the 'W' column but also [in] the way that we work, developing our players and starting to build something special here."
The 27-year-old has spent the past six seasons with the Magic after playing for the Philadelphia 76ers as a rookie.
While Vucevic was limited to 57 games last season, the 7-foot, 260-pounder was productive when healthy, averaging 16.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and a career-high 3.4 assists and 1.1 blocks.
The 2011 first-round pick out of USC also further expanded his shooting range last season, and he made a career-high 1.1 three-point field goals per game.
While Vucevic is effective at stretching the floor and keeping the opposition honest, Robbins noted that new head coach Steve Clifford wants him to spend more time in the post.
Although the Montenegrin has never been named an All-Star, he has averaged a double-double over the course of a season four times, and he boasts career averages of 14.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.
Despite that, Vucevic's tenure in Orlando may be nearing its conclusion.
The Magic selected center Mohamed Bamba with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft and signed power forward Aaron Gordon to a contract extension, meaning those two appear to be the starting frontcourt of the future.
Vucevic potentially could re-sign and stay beyond the 2018-19 season while Bamba develops, but he figures to have a significant market in free agency given his strong resume and versatility at the center position.
If the Magic start trending toward a seventh straight season out of the playoffs, Weltman may be wise to change his stance and get some assets for a player who may leave for nothing next offseason.
