Report: Nikola Vucevic's New Contract Is 'Easier' for Magic to Trade in Future

The Orlando Magic and center Nikola Vucevic reached an agreement Sunday on a four-year, $100 million contract.

Josh Robbins of The Athletic broke down the specifics: "Vucevic's four-year deal is worth a total of $100 million in base salary and features descending annual salaries, a league source said. Vucevic will be paid $28 million during the 2019-20 season, $26 million during the 2020-21 season, $24 million during the 2021-22 season and $22 million during the 2022-23 season."

That contract structure should be "easier to trade, or keep, during the final seasons" of Vucevic's deal, as Robbins added.

Vucevic spent the previous seven years with the Magic, who acquired him from the Philadelphia 76ers in an August 2012 blockbuster trade that also featured Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bynum, among others. The Sixers selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

The 28-year-old USC product averaged 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.1 threes and 1.1 blocks while shooting 51.8 percent from the field across 80 appearances for Orlando last season, where he made the All-Star team for the first time.

He was one of the league's most efficient players throughout the 2018-19 campaign, ranking eighth in ESPN's real plus-minus and ninth in player efficiency rating.

Nikola Vucevic Highlight Reel

Vucevic was noncommittal about his future after Orlando's season ended with a first-round loss to the Toronto Raptors.

"Obviously I've had a great seven years here, but at the same time, we'll see what happens," he told reporters in April. "It's a mutual decision, and it's not just me. They have to decide what they want to do. Based on that, we'll go from there. I wish I knew what would happen. I wish I had a contract in hand."

Vucevic has averaged 15.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists during his eight NBA seasons, and he's tallied 285 double-doubles in 536 regular-season games.

Vucevic told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype: "It felt right for me to stay there [Orlando] and continue this. Being one of the best players on the team, I wanted to come back and keep this thing going."

The Magic earned their first postseason appearance since 2012 last season, and Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Co. will look to build off that in 2019-20.