The Orlando Magic have an overloaded frontcourt, and Nikola Vucevic does not seem to be part of Frank Vogel’s vision of the future there — he came off the bench for a while but is back starting for Orlando now.
The Boston Celtics are looking for the right big to put next to Al Horford, a big who can score around the bucket would be nice.
Do we have a trade match? The sides are at least talking, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.CSNNE.com has learned that the Celtics have talked with the Orlando Magic about a potential deal involving the 26-year-old center.
While no deal is imminent, the addition of Vucevic would be a significant boost to the Celtics roster on multiple fronts.
It’s unclear who and what picks would head to Orlando.
Boston could use scoring and rebounding inside. Vucevic has struggled this season in postups (26.1 percent of his shots, but his shooting just 45.1 percent according to Synergy Sports) but he has a versatile offensive game — he can make good cuts and work a little off the ball — that Brad Stevens may be able to better exploit than Frank Vogel has this season. His rebounding is up and he is solid on the glass.
Where he doesn’t help significantly is on defense.
Also, Vucevic has a very reasonable contract with two years, $25 million left on it after this season.
Boston has plenty of picks and young players it can throw in any deal — Vucevic isn’t worthy of the Brooklyn picks, but Danny Ainge has a stockpile he can lean on. I could see a deal being worked out.
