2019 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Nikola Vucevic

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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets /

Overall Outlook

By Joe Buckley

So Nikola Vucevic has to scrap for playing time more than ever. How can he do that?

By being his old self, mainly. Crashing the boards, scoring the ball, being the man. Which is where another change takes a swing.

Aaron Gordon is not a change, in all fairness. He has been around for years. His rise has been constant, and he was clearly the star last season. That is going to happen again, both on the boards and at the rim.

Luckily, Vucevic has played that game before. He has been through Tobias Harris‘ and Evan Fournier’s and Victor Oladipo’s turn as “the guy” and the very messy offenses they have led. Vucevic’s numbers have been just fine. He knows how to contribute, one way or another.

If it were just that, if it were just one change, Vucevic is a good enough basketball player to cope. But all these changes, all at once, means the team has to prepare itself for a different Vucevic.

To fight for minutes and fight for touches and fight for the win is all a lot easier when you do not have six-plus years of losing basketball. It is a tough cross to bear, and that is true for the front office as much as the players.

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Familiarity is all well and good, but the Magic are welcoming change. They are actively seeking it and waving goodbye to the captain of their sinkiest ship may well usher that in.

The Team Previews dotted around the various major outlets are typically focusing on the two young bigs, Aaron Gordon or perhaps the lack of a proper point guard. When Vucevic’s name comes up, it is about the fact this coming season is a contract year for the big man.

Will that mean an extra level Vucevic can reach to push up his offers next summer, or will the Magic instead begin shopping him (perhaps in search of that elusive point guard) so the new era can truly begin?

The truly amazing fact, lost in this and most previews, is that Vucevic is still only 27 years old. He is younger than Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward or Draymond Green. That is almost amazing. But then those who do things consistently just seem older. Maybe ask that Tim Duncan guy.

Even at 27, he is climbing the ranks of the Magic’s all-time lists. But he must be aware he is in danger of being remembered as the best Magic player from the worst Magic era.

He is too competitive to settle for that. As much as he might want to see the fruit of his labors, maybe in the form of a playoff game, he also wants to win. And he wants to be a part of such a team.

Look, therefore, for a scrappy, fighting Vucevic to come out in the starting center position, showing off his new-look 3-point shot, hitting the glass hard and turning up for work every damn day.

Time and change are coming. Vucevic is going to try and box out both.

dark. Next. 2019 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Timofey Mozgov

But if things remain the same for the Magic, Vucevic might soon be looking at the biggest change in his basketball career yet.