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The Orlando Magic president of operations Jeff Weltman said in April that bringing back the 2019 NBA All-Star Nikola Vucevic, who entered free agency this summer, is one of the top priorities of this franchise.
Lo and behold, as per The Athletic and Stadium NBA reporter Shams Charania, Nikola Vucevic signed a 4-year $100 million contract with the Orlando Magic when the free agency officially began on June 30th, 6 PM ET (July 1st, 3:30 AM IST).
The demand in the free agency market for a floor-stretching big man like Vucevic was really high and given his All-Star status, he had offers from all the big market teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers to name a few.
Let's discuss 3 reasons why Nikola Vucevic should have tested the free agency market and not re-signed with the Orlando Magic:
#3 Nikola Vucevic could have made more money elsewhere
After his All-Star season with the Orlando Magic, in a contract year, where Vucevic averaged 20.8 points and 12 rebounds a game, he was set to earn a big payday in the 2019 offseason, when he was going to become a free agent.
Vucevic even led the Magic to their first postseason since 2011-12, something which improved his chances of landing a maximum contract in the off-season. Vucevic was earning $12.5 million in his final season with the Magic and was in for a big payday.
The Dallas Mavericks were in a position to offer Nikola Vucevic a massive 4-year $140.6 million max deal, provided they signed him first and then signed their Latvian center, Kristaps Porzingis, something which was expected to happen and Porzingis was supposedly okay with this as well.
The Los Angeles Lakers also have over $30 million in cap space and were looking to poach Vucevic and make him their 3rd star, if they were unable to sign Kawhi Leonard or any of the top free agents. Vucevic would have had a big pay and also would have joined instant title contenders on a big market team in the Lakers.
The Sacramento Kings too had around $28 million in cap space even after bringing back Harrison Barnes and Willie Cauley-Stein (who they are undecided about). Vucevic would have become the calming presence alongside Barnes on a young Kings team poised to break out and could have earned big bucks as well.
Yet, Vucevic decided to re-sign with the Orlando Magic on a 4-year, $100 million deal, which all of these teams could have potentially offered him. It seems like a bizarre decision to take lesser money and not be able to contend for a title as the Orlando Magic will not be able to compete with teams in the Eastern Conference like the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks.
#2 Nikola Vucevic could have signed for a big market team
The Orlando Magic have been a top franchise since their establishment in 1989 and have had players such as Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard, among others, play for them.
They have reached the playoffs 15 times in 30 years and have made the NBA Finals twice. Yet, they do not have an NBA championship yet. Orlando is not considered a big market team among the major NBA cities and Vucevic could have joined another team where he could become more of a household name.
The Boston Celtics were one of the teams that were pursuing Nikola Vucevic hard, after Al Horford had declined his player option. Kyrie Irving also had one foot out the door and the Celtics were looking to get an All-Star in to stabilize the franchise. Vucevic was a perfect fit, yet he declined to join them.
The Dallas Mavericks are considered a powerhouse in the NBA, with players like Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd winning them a title over the fancied Miami Heat. They had young stars in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, alongside whom Vucevic could have been the perfect big man to complement their style of the game.
He could have cemented his status as an All-Star while competing for a title. Yet he decided to sign with the Orlando Magic, a decision that seems to have bamboozled a lot of people in the NBA.
#1 The Orlando Magic cannot compete at an elite level
At the end of the day, one of the biggest measures of a player's success in the NBA is the number of championships he has won. Nikola Vucevic, after deciding to stay with the Orlando Magic, might not be able to win one.
He might become a ring hunter in the future, like other storied veterans, who failed to win a title until they were just another player, not a vital piece, of a dynasty which was on its way to win a title and it is with good reason too.
The Orlando Magic have reached the playoffs just once since the 2011-12 season and managed to break the streak of playoff misses just last year due to Vucevic's heroics. They were still only able to win just 1 game against eventual champions Toronto Raptors and bowed out 4-1 in the 1st round itself.
While Nikola Vucevic is an All-Star, he is not surrounded by them. His second best player, Aaron Gordon, is still just a role player, even though he was poised to become an All-Star caliber player like Pascal Siakam last season.
Evan Fournier, no offense, has not justified his 5-year $85 million contract which he signed in 2016-17 and still has 2 years on, making it impossible for the Magic to strengthen their roster as they do not have any flexibility.
They also need to sign Terrence Ross again, as he was a spark-plug off the bench and arguably their second best player. The young players in Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba have been disappointing. If Vucevic was planning to win a championship in his prime, he has just lost that chance, unless he gets traded.
