Nikola Vucevic is set to be one of the best free agents on the market this summer, but the Orlando Magic may not let things get that far.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman says the team is making it a priority to bring back Vucevic, as well as free-agent wing Terrence Ross, this offseason:
“We would like to bring them back and we would like to establish that continuity and continue to build that momentum, and we'll try to do that,” said Weltman, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “But obviously, if we're unable to do that, then that presents opportunities for other guys on our roster that we believe in, and we'll pursue whatever path we feel will get us to ultimately our goals, which is winning. As I said, our first priority is to attempt to bring our own guys back.”
Vucevic is coming off of a fantastic 2018-19 campaign in which he played all 80 games and averaged 20.8 points, 12 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and one steal over 31.4 minutes per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor, 36.4 percent from three-point range and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line en route to his first All-Star appearance.
Meanwhile, Ross also enjoyed the best year of his career, appearing in 81 contests off the bench and registering 15.1 points and 3.5 boards across 26.5 minutes a night while making 42.8 percent of his field-goal attempts, 38.3 percent of his long-distance tries and 87.5 percent of his foul shots.
Vucevic is reportedly drawing interest from the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, so if talks with Orlando don't go according to plan, he could land with one of those two teams.
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