Orlando Magic could reunite with these familiar faces this offseason

The Orlando Magic expectedly did very little this summer.

The team built a public posture claiming they were not interested in touching their starting lineup, seemingly closing off conversations for any major changes. They only had minimum contracts to spend without bumping their heads against a second apron hard cap.

And so the big move of the offseason was a substantial one for their roster, but also a sentimental one: The return of Nikola Vucevic.

At the very least, it was a good bit of public relations and nostalgia. Fans came to appreciate Vucevic for sticking with the team and leading them out of the doldrums and back into the Playoffs in 2019 and 2020.

The Magic will need more than just a nice reunion story to make this a good summer. Vucevic is still able to play. He is a great acquisition at the minimum and someone who should have a role this coming season.

This is not just a happy reunion.

But it has everyone feeling a bit nostalgic. And the Magic still have an open roster spot.

Maybe another reunion is worth exploring, so long as we have those warm and fuzzy feelings.

To be clear, all indications are the Magic will sit tight for the rest of the offseason. It does not seem the Magic are in any hurry to fill that final roster spot. But we cannot help but dream about some potential reunions.

Evan Fournier

If Nikola Vucevic is returning, why not bring back one of his good friends from the Orlando Magic's often frustrating interregnum after Dwight Howard's departure?

Fournier was acquired a year into the Magic's rebuild and established himself as their best perimeter player fairly quickly, even battling second-overall pick Victor Oladipo for playing time.

Fournier averaged 16.2 points per game and shot 37.6 percent from three in seven seasons with the Magic. The Orlando Magic traded him on that fateful day in 2021 to the Boston Celtics for Jeff Teague and two second-round picks (the Magic traded back one to the Celtics to acquire Noah Penda).

Fournier played three more seasons with the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons after leaving Orlando.

Since the 2024-25 season, he returned to Europe playing for Olympiacos in Greece. He has quickly estalished himself as a key player for them.

Fournier averaged 15.8 points per game in Euroleague competition in 2025 and 11.0 points per game this year, helping Olympiacos win the Euroleague title with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Fournier is 33 years old. He is starting to decline. And he seems to be enjoying playing back in Europe. But while he was never the greatest defender, his 3-point shooting from the FIBA range has started to decline.

It is unlikely Fournier is coming back to the NBA any time soon. But it would be strange not to have Vucevic around without his longtime running partner in Magic pinstripes.

Mario Hezonja

On the other side of that Euroleague championship game on May 24 was another familiar name.

Playing for Real Madrid is the suddenly older and much more mature Mario Hezonja.

The Orlando Magic drafted Hezonja with the fifth pick in the 2015 Draft. He never lived up to the billing as a super-athletic, 3-point marksman with the confidence to believe he was the best player on the floor. A mixture of his youth and the cycling of coaches (he joined the team during the ill-fated Scott Skiles team) kept him from fully developing.

The Orlando Magic declined the final year of his contract, and he journeyed through the NBA with the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers before returning to Europe. He averaged only 6.9 points per game and shot 33.2 percent from three in three seasons in Orlando.

Hezonja has found a second life in Europe, though. In six seasons back in Euroleague, he has failed to average at least 10 points per game just once -- in his first year with Real Madrid in Liga ACB in 2023.

This past season, the now-31-year-old Hezonja averaged 17.5 points per game and shot 36.6 percent from three in Liga ACB. He averaged 13.2 points per game in Euroleague play this year, including 19 points, four rebounds and five assists in the championship game.

Hezonja has remained very up and down with his 3-point shooting. But he has carved out a solid career playing for one of the best teams in Europe.

And he capped off his case with the first triple-double of FIBA European World Cup Qualifying with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in Croatia's 123-50 win over Cyprus on Friday. That was playing with regulars Ivica Zubac and Dario Saric.

Hezonja is probably best suited to staying in Europe. But he has always hinted that he would like to try his hand at the NBA again. Undeniably, he would fit for the Magic.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The Orlando Magic are probably right to keep their roster spot open.

It is not merely about saving some potential tax payments. It is about staying open to opportunities -- whether it is a potential trade to take on an extra player or someone who falls into the buyout market.

There might be a few more players that begin to slip through the cracks. One name is already catching some people's attention.

Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime reported the Memphis Grizzlies are working on a buyout with veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after he picked up the player option on the final year of the three-year deal the Orlando Magic gave him in the summer of 2024.

Caldwell-Pope famously struggled with his 3-point shot in his lone year with the Orlando Magic, falling from 40.6 percent from three in his last year with the Denver Nuggets to 34.2 percent in the 2025 season with the Magic.

Things did not get better in Memphis. He shot only 31.6 percent from deep in 51 games, mostly coming off the bench. Caldwell-Pope has fallen off a ton.

So why would you even consider bringing him back?

Well, maybe a new offense would help him get open for threes a bit more. His defense is still very good, even as it declines. He would be a valuable veteran voice in the locker room -- say what you will about him on the court (and that is important), but he was a steadying presence in the locker room.

At the minimum a team could do a lot worse.

Victor Oladipo

Of all the players the Orlando Magic drafted and tried to build around during their frustrating decade after losing Dwight Howard, Victor Oladipo was the one who was the closest to touching true stardom.

He had some pretty huge scoring games and a ton of memorable moments in his three seasons in Orlando. He averaged 15.9 points per game and 4.0 assists per game.

Nikola Vucevic was a two-time All-Star with the Magic. But Oladipo truly blossomed with the Indiana Pacers, making the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019.

Injuries completely derailed his career from there. He never got back to those heights, and he bounced around the league, last playing in 2023 for the Miami Heat.

Oladipo is trying to make a comeback as he pleaded on social media this weekend:

Oladipo would likely be a camp invite to see if he is healthy enough to play. He is now 34 years old with years of leg and knee injuries following him. This is not the same uber athlete the Magic drafted back in 2013.

This is a long shot at this point in his career and at this point for the Magic. But it is out there. And Oladipo might still have something to contribute.

To reiterate, all of these reunions are unlikely. The Magic seem poised to leave that roster spot open to begin the season. But we are feeling nostalgic this week nevertheless.

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