Nikola Vucevic paired with Horford would give the Celtics one of the strongest front courts in the NBA
Following missing out on Kevin Durant, the Boston Celtics are still searching for their third star to pair along with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford. The Celtics are a much more well-rounded team following the Horford signing, however they wouldn’t be opposed to bulking up their front court a little more.
In order to do so, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to contact the Orlando Magic about Nikola Vucevic. After trading for Serge Ibaka on draft night, the Magic still went out and signed Bismack Biyombo in free agency. The supposed plan is to start Ibaka and Biyombo together, forming arguably the best post defense in the league.
Orlando still has Aaron Gordon – 4th overall pick in 2014 – and Nikola Vucevic, one of the most underrated centers in the game. All of a sudden they turned their front court into one of the more complex ones in the league. While they have four serviceable bigs, keeping the egos in check and everyone happy is the biggest worry for the Magic.
Even with the salary cap increasing, they’re not paying Bismack Biyombo $18 million to come off the bench. Besides, Biyombo was probably promised a starting role after his big postseason this past year. I doubt Biyombo would have accepted a bench role, even for that money, when other teams were willing to make him their starter.
Then, of course, Ibaka is going to start for the Magic. He’s their best big man and impacts the game on both ends better than Vucevic or Biyombo. Also, Aaron Gordon could slide over to small forward for them, but would Vucevic accept a bench role?
Last season, Vucevic was benched for the last four games due to an injury, but he was adamant that it was only temporary. How will he feel know that the Magic brought in two replacements for him? Besides, the Magic proved that anyone is available after trading away Victor Oladipo for Ibaka on draft night.
After being the team’s best player over the past two seasons, I don’t think Vucevic wants to come off the bench, and his contract makes him very intriguing for other teams. He’s making around $12 million in each of the next three seasons, a bargain after seeing the market. His contract paired with his ability could give them a nice return.
The Magic most likely traded Oladipo to open minutes for Mario Hezonja, while letting Evan Fournier and Gordon start. While a smart move that could pay off if Hezonja develops into a better player than Oladipo, it hurts their back court for next season. Looking for a couple of young players who Frank Vogel can develop – very good coach for young players – is something the Magic have to be looking for.
They’re still a young team, despite adding some veterans, and the Celtics could help with their youth movement while getting better. With the departure of Evan Turner, the Celtics don’t have as much wiggle room in their back court, though.
They could still offer Terry Rozier or Marcus Smart in a trade, if they want to trust Jaylen Brown with a significant bench role as a rookie. Boston could also offer Jordan Mickey, a young center who may continue to struggle to find minutes. To top it off, adding the lesser of their two first round picks in 2018 could make it a very enticing offer for the Magic.
It seems like a lot, however Vucevic is an All-Star caliber player. While he has never been selected to an All-Star game, he has quietly developed into a very good center for the Magic. If Orlando was better then Vucevic would have likely gone to at least one All-Star game.
While Vucevic could be considered a bottom-tier star, he wouldn’t be enough to push the Celtics over the top. He’d make them a lot better, and a better match-up against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but obviously they’d need a lot more to take down the Golden State Warriors. Still, Vucevic would solidify the Celtics with one of the best front courts in the league.
He’s one of the most versatile front court scorers in the NBA, as he led the Magic in points per game two years in a row. Last season, he averaged 18.2 points per contest and was able to score in every way for Orlando. His shot distribution is as even as they come.
Vucevic attempted 24.7 percent of his shots in the paint, 27.9 percent from 3-to-10 feet away, 16.6 percent from 10-to-16 feet out and 30.8 percent from 16-feet or farther. He’s not a three-point shooter, but he’s a reliable pick-and-pop big and is also reliable in the post. In fact, Vucevic shot a very impressive 48.2 percent from 16-feet and farther last season. It was the second straight year he shot above 45 percent from that range.
He doesn’t get as much national attention as he should because he’s on Orlando, but there are very few big men with offensive games as effective as his. Paired with Horford, the Celtics would be able to stretch the floor or use one of them in the paint focused on the glass and the other playing a pick-and-pop game with Isaiah Thomas.
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For as efficient of a scorer as Vucevic is – 51 field-goal percentage – his rebounding is what makes him worth the price the Celtics would have to pay for him. He had three straight seasons of averaging at least 10 rebounds per game before last season when it went down to 8.9 per contest.
Vucevic was battling with injuries all season, but he was still one of the best on the offensive glass. Vucevic grabbed 2.7 offensive boards per game. It was also his fifth straight season of averaging at least three offensive boards per 36 minutes. It’s a testament to how dedicated Vucevic is on the glass and how he’s willing to do the dirty work.
Having another big who is a versatile scorer and willing to do the dirty work would drastically improve Boston from last season. Not to mention Vucevic is a true seven-footer, becoming a huge addition to an otherwise undersized Celtics team.
The biggest knock on Vucevic is his defense, however I think Brad Stevens could get the most out of him. He’s one of the best at covering up player’s flaws, and the addition of Al Horford would help, as well. Vucevic wouldn’t be asked to guard the best player, which might help his defensive game too.
Also, Vucevic did average a career-high 1.1 blocks per game this past season. He has the height, but he doesn’t always use it to his advantage. He’ll never become a great defender, although he’s also never played next to a player like Horford. He can cover up many of his flaws on that end, paired with the great defensive back court the Celtics also sport.
Horford would most likely have to move to power forward, which he use to play a lot during the beginning of his career. Obviously he’s not the typical small ball power forward, however he knows how to play it effectively. Horford saw 34 percent of his minutes there in 2010-11 and 27 percent in 2012-13.
They’d form one of the taller back courts in the league and could use their post games to their advantage against smaller teams.
When it comes down to it, the Magic could end up keeping Vucevic or their price could be way too high. However, I don’t think Vucevic is content with being a backup for the next three seasons, and with Aaron Gordon quickly developing, he could be pushed down the totem pole even more.
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If they asked for Avery Bradley in a trade, it would be hard to give him up but it’d be worth pondering over. While Vucevic isn’t the missing piece to a Big 3, he’s another player around the caliber of Jae Crowder. He makes a big impact every night and makes your team significantly better.