Sooner or later, Orlando Magic’s goal must be to support Mohamed Bamba

The Orlando Magic need to shop Nikola Vucevic early and attempt to add more complementary players around Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba.

As the Orlando Magic enter the season, they have a clear to make regarding one of the most liked players on their roster.

It is something they have wrestled with for several years, but now finally seems to be coming to a head. Sometime soon, the team will have to resolve its logjam at center.

Drafting Mohamed Bamba, combined with Nikola Vucevic’s expiring contract, has brought this more to the forefront. At some point, Vucevic will give way to Bamba. There is no other choice in the matter.

The question is: When?

The Magic have expressed their love for Bamba and look to continue rebuilding their franchise with a rim protector at the center position rather than a scoring big with defensive limitations. Bamba fits the team’s growing obsessions with length and defense. Vucevic simply does not.

Now the Magic have forced their hand to either trade Vucevic and gain more players that fit a style built around Mohamed Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon or ask the veteran to be happy coming come off of the bench. A gesture some players are unwilling to cooperate with if they still think they are starting material. Especially considering Vucevic has been a starter for this franchise for the better part of five years.

For sure, Vucevic will probably start the season at center. Bamba simply is not ready for the heavy minute load that comes with being a NBA starter. But at some point, likely this season with Vucevic’s expiring contract, he will have to give way to Bamba. And Bamba will need to sink or swim his rookie year.

The last thing the Magic want to do is hold onto Vucevic too long after investing so much into a franchise-altering defensive player like Bamba. Vucevic has a lot to teach Bamba in the meantime, but it is clear he is a placeholder for Bamba.

There is no other reason to use such a high draft pick without having that in mind.

The truth is Vucevic is a better offensive player than Bamba is at this stage in his career.  Bamba may never be as skilled as Vucevic is in the post.

But Bamba should already be a better defensive player and rim protector than Vucevic could ever dream to be. That is a skill set the organization has tried to develop in Vucevic’s repertoire since his arrival. They have also tried to find other players to make up for that deficit in Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to little success.

Bamba seems to be the first player to have the defensive potential and offensive potential to unseat Vucevic.

Now that the organization has found their center for the future, the question is do they go all in this year to develop him or not? When do they pull the trigger and make the switch toward the future?

Obviously, you do not improve as a player by sitting on the bench you get better by taking advantage of your playing time. Then again, Bamba still has to build himself up physically and prove himself on the court.

It leaves the Magic in a bit of a pickle entering the season. But one that seems to have a much clearer solution than previous jaunts with the position.

The Magic cannot afford to play this one out like they did when they signed Bismack Biyombo to a four-year, $72-million contract.  Biyombo pretty much sat behind Vucevic and never really got a fair shot to win the starting job. Mainly because of how anemic he was offensively.

Vucevic beat him out in the end for the position. And the Magic’s gamble to replace Vucevic failed miserably. They were lucky they kept Vucevic around for his production at least.

But Bamba is different.

Bamba has made some noise during the offseason workouts and pick-up games. It is easy to be in awe of Bamba’s NBA Draft Combine record 7-foot-10 wingspan. Especially when you see how he used it with the Texas Longhorns in averaging nearly four blocks per game. He was impressive defensively as a shot blocker in Summer League too.

Certainly, coach Steve Clifford will develop Mohamed Bamba slowly. Clifford is notorious for being patient with rookies. He likely will not give him more than he can handle. But there are a lot of signs that Clifford will have no choice but to play Bamba because of his defensive impact. Things may move very quickly for him.

It seems like only a matter of time before Bamba needs to start and Vucevic, once again hits the market. This time, with Vucevic’s contract set to expire at the end of the year, the Magic may actually take a deal and clear that path for him.

The Magic should get back pretty good value for Vucevic’s services. He is actually a good trade piece.

Orlando Magic

Vucevic has never made an All-Star game, but he is respected in the NBA as a scoring center, kind of a Brook Lopez-type of talent. The type of guy that can put up respectable numbers on an underachieving team or shine as a Sixth Man off the bench.

Vucevic’s best year of his career was the 2015 season in which he put up 19.2 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game for a struggling Magic team. He may never get back to this level of production but he is a capable scorer and passer in this league.

The problem is the Magic made it clear they are ready to move on from him after selecting Bamba with their first pick in the 2018 draft. They clearly want a better rim protector than what Vucevic provides.

Mohamed Bamba is reminiscent of a young DeAndre Jordan, a player that can not only rim protect but a player who can run the floor and catch all types of alley-oops when the defense takes its eyes off of the baseline.

Not to mention Bamba has worked to improve his jumper and could be a threat in the pick-and-pop.

It is clear the Magic have to move forward without Vucevic to turn around the mental psyche of this team and franchise. And now it feels like an inevitability.

Yes, Vucevic is a good player but he will never be the first or second option on a championship-level team. He is clearly a role player on the championship level.

And for that reason, the Magic need to move Vucevic sooner than later. At some point, this will be Bamba’s team to anchor.