We got our first legitimate intel on the Boston Celtics plans this offseason: Nikola Vucevic appears to be on his way out. Honestly, it's not that surprising because Vucevic's impact in Boston was pretty minimal. It's a shame too, because he never quite got a fair shot in Boston.
Everyone who knows the full scope of the trade knows that the Celtics' reasons for getting him in the first place were twofold: one, get under the tax, and two, shore up their frontcourt depth. For as impressive as Neemias Queta and Luka Garza were, another quality big couldn't have hurt.
Vucevic wasn't terrible all the time. In fact, there were games where he straight-up dominated.
Hardly any mid-season acquisition takes their role and runs with it when acquired by a playoff team - cut to Derrick White nodding - so it made sense that Vucevic would have some growing pains. The worst part was that cursed finger injury that knocked him out.
That was bad for two reasons: One, it hindered his chances of developing continuity with his teammates, and two, Jayson Tatum literally came back the night Vucevic got hurt. His time on the shelf couldn't have come at a worse time, as by the time he came back, the postseason was around the corner.
Granted, Garza did about as good of a job as anyone could have expected him to in Vucevic's place, but that just made it even more confusing as to who should have played when the playoffs came around.
That Game 7 pretty much sealed his fate in Boston
We should have seen the writing on the wall when Joe Mazzulla had Vucevic on the bench in Boston's most pivotal game of the season. No, he didn't play well enough that it was obvious to play him over Queta or Garza, but to be fair, none of those three played well as a whole in that series.
In a contract year, it was telling that Mazzulla had lost trust in Vucevic during such a pivotal time, especially over players who anyone would have thought rated much less than he would have coming into the season.
When that happens, that makes any potential extension negotiations a bit... awkward. Understandably, when a team signals that they don't really believe in your abilities during the biggest game of the season and one that could influence your market, it's standard for you to show yourself to the exit.
No one should wish Vucci Mane any ill will at the end of the day because even if he didn't help, he didn't hurt much either. At the end of the day, when Celtics fans look back on the Vucevic era, they'll say, "Well, that happened."
Add us as a preferred source on Google