Vucevic re-signs $100 million 4 year deal with Magic

[Skin]

Already said... if Birch and Aminu get nothing then 16 mpg is fine with me for now. It's still a wait and see with Birch atm. Maybe we should let him go. He would be pissed off we matched only to give him nightly DNPs.

Aminu has only played about 170 total minutes at C for his entire career.

I would be pretty surprised if he got any time there given the depth chart.

I don't think Birch's return is going to be up to him either. I can't imagine the Magic are dying to go into the luxury tax to retain a third-string center.

They drafted Bamba high for a reason. Flat out, he needs to step up and match Birch's production and impact from last year.

If you don't think Birch is coming back or Aminu is getting time then I can see where you think Bamba's min are coming from. I wasn't basing it on the same premise.

[ezzzp]

He'll be fine eventually, but he was pretty rough last year. Ranking him amongst rookies doesn't show how that relates to the NBA. It only points to how he ranked amongst 60-70 players, of which only a tiny fraction will be in the NBA in 2-3 years.

If you compare him to the rest of the NBA, then you see a clearer picture of where he was at last season:

In RPM, out of 514 NBA players, Bamba ranked as the 499th worst player in the NBA...meanwhile Doncic was 86th, Jackson Jr ranked 169th, Ayton ranked 179th, Shai 287th, WCJr 346th, Young 429th.

That doesn't mean that I think he's going to suck in the future, I think he's going to be very good...it just shows how raw he was as a rookie entering the league.

He had no PG and his games were against our toughest part of the schedule. In terms of blocks, assists, pts, rebounds, ts, and things like that he was in the top 10.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

Those are counting stats, other than TS those aren't really a measure of effectiveness - especially when you are only ranking them with rookies...and with TS%, he's a big, that's always going to be high because he probably shot a 1/3 of his FGA's at point blank range.

Bamba wasn't very good with DJ either: 136 minutes = -23.0 Net Rating (92.1 ORtg / 115.1 DRtg)

He'll be fine, but he was just too raw last season, but that was expected. There should be a nice bump in his effectiveness this upcoming season.

[Skin]

You're not getting it. That was pre-emergence of Birch not pre-roster Birch. Birch showed something after getting his minutes. So I'm saying if we bring him back that will cut into Bamba's minutes.

Giving Aminu minutes that Bamba can use to develop will most certainly suck. You sound like developing players is not our most important goal. If Bamba gets 16 mpg, I'll be fine with that for now.

No you're not getting it.

Birch only played garbage minutes (99 total minutes) until Bamba got hurt on Jan 7th. Bamba averaged 16mpg regardless of Birch. Clifford gave him "development" minutes. He obviously saw both in practice; just like everyone else he saw how good Birch played in garbage minutes and saw how nice Birch played last season. Birch was a known.

Aminu won't take minutes from Bamba unless Bamba is hurt or just flat out totally sucks. Just like any 3d center, they get minutes if needed. You sound like you don't understand basic roster roles.

I never brought up Aminu taking min. That was Instinct. I was going off Birch coming back.

Birch was a lesser known prior to Bamba's injury. Due to his emergence, I figured he'd be more deserving of playing time instead of DNPs after proving himself. Players can do all they want in practice, but they still need to prove it in games. If you're saying Bamba is gonna get 16mpg then cool. I'll feel bad for Birch since we matched another team's offer who would have played him more.

[ezzzp]

I never brought up Aminu taking min. That was Instinct. I was going off Birch coming back.

Birch was a lesser known prior to Bamba's injury. Due to his emergence, I figured he'd be more deserving of playing time instead of DNPs after proving himself. Players can do all they want in practice, but they still need to prove it in games. If you're saying Bamba is gonna get 16mpg then cool. I'll feel bad for Birch since we matched another team's offer who would have played him more.

There was a whole contingent of Magic fans that wanted Birch to be the starter before Bamba was even drafted.

He played well when Vucevic was out for 2 months in 17-18...and shined in whatever minutes he got last season prior to Bamba's injury. He was known.

I hate losing him as an asset, but I can't see the Magic going into luxury tax for him.

If for some reason they do keep Birch, then that's the scenario where Bamba will have to earn his minutes over Birch. But if Bamba still can't beat out Birch, then its just more of a sign as to why they kept Birch - and an indicator of how raw or physically not ready Bamba still is.

[Skin]

I never brought up Aminu taking min. That was Instinct. I was going off Birch coming back.

Birch was a lesser known prior to Bamba's injury. Due to his emergence, I figured he'd be more deserving of playing time instead of DNPs after proving himself. Players can do all they want in practice, but they still need to prove it in games. If you're saying Bamba is gonna get 16mpg then cool. I'll feel bad for Birch since we matched another team's offer who would have played him more.

There was a whole contingent of Magic fans that wanted Birch to be the starter before Bamba was even drafted.

He played well when Vucevic was out for 2 months in 17-18...and shined in whatever minutes he got last season prior to Bamba's injury. He was known.

I hate losing him as an asset, but I can't see the Magic going into luxury tax for him.

If for some reason they do keep Birch, then that's the scenario where Bamba will have to earn his minutes over Birch. But if Bamba still can't beat out Birch, then its just more of a sign as to why they kept Birch - and an indicator of how raw or physically not ready Bamba still is.

More I think of it, I don't think Birch comes back. Forgot we still have Mozgov.

Mozgov can rack up all the DNPs

[Max Power]

I don’t see how Birch comes back with the roster being what it is. We need guard help still. Even if Fultz comes back looking like a mega star, just by numbers the team is short on guards.

Birch was ok, but let’s not act like he was Marcin Gortat when he was here. Birch was worse at the rim than Deshawn Stevenson was, and his ineptitude was legendary. Birch is an energy guy, offensively he’s abysmal, and defensively he was just ok.

[I Rasharted]

[bigmoe1952]

The following is from an article on Yardbarker. It says pretty much what I said on here a couple of days ago. This new regime is Hennigan 2.

After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!

[OrlandO]

This new regime is Hennigan 2.

Hennigan? You mean the guy who fostered a losing culture by being too incompetent to make his pieces fit, gave away two of our best players when we started trending up, spent 20% of our cap on a third stringer, gave Jeff Green $15 million, and failed to make the playoffs in five years? If you think Weltman is the same then you're not paying attention.

"After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!"

Article Translation: "After making impressive strides over the past year, why didn't the Magic take steps back by renouncing the two players most responsible for those strides? Why did they pay fair market value for their all-star and sixth man of the year candidate? Even though they made the 7th seed this past season, their roster full of 21-23 year olds will never improve to help the team get a higher standing. Jonathan Isaac is a finished product at 21. I once wrote that Mo Bamba is as raw as it gets and won't make an impact on a team until at least 2 years from now, but now I don't understand why the Magic would want to bring him along slowly in role that makes sense for him and one that he can actually excel in. I'm too lazy to imagine a scenario where the Magic consolidate assets to upgrade their team. I am a clown who doesn't watch the Magic."

[Optimus_Steel]

These are the same "analyst" types that are praising the Sixers for Harris $180M and 33 year old Horford for $100M.

[j-ragg]

I don’t think Horford’s deal is bad. He makes a huge impact in the playoffs. I think the fit isn’t the best though.

Tobias kinda had them over a barrel since he prob knew Jimmy was leaving. Bad contract but if they win a ring or make the finals it’ll end up justified (a la Rashard’s).

[zaymon]

These are the same "analyst" types that are praising the Sixers for Harris $180M and 33 year old Horford for $100M.

Exactly, if someone created artificial ceiling its 76ers. They dealt their whole promising youth and expect low tier stars ( harris, horford) to bring them over the hump. If they win championship kudos to them, but if not they shortened the window and lowered ceiling drastically. We unlike them are full of youth to develop behind veterans.

[MagicMatic]

This new regime is Hennigan 2.

Hennigan? You mean the guy who fostered a losing culture by being too incompetent to make his pieces fit, gave away two of our best players when we started trending up, spent 20% of our cap on a third stringer, gave Jeff Green $15 million, and failed to make the playoffs in five years? If you think Weltman is the same then you're not paying attention.

"After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!"

Article Translation: "After making impressive strides over the past year, why didn't the Magic take steps back by renouncing the two players most responsible for those strides? Why did they pay fair market value for their all-star and sixth man of the year candidate? Even though they made the 7th seed this past season, their roster full of 21-23 year olds will never improve to help the team get a higher standing. Jonathan Isaac is a finished product at 21. I once wrote that Mo Bamba is as raw as it gets and won't make an impact on a team until at least 2 years from now, but now I don't understand why the Magic would want to bring him along slowly in role that makes sense for him and one that he can actually excel in. I'm too lazy to imagine a scenario where the Magic consolidate assets to upgrade their team. I am a clown who doesn't watch the Magic."

Wow this article from a random writer really triggered you to write all this...

To be fair, a lot of Magic fans that did watch most (if not all) games last season are asking the same questions. Are you going to discredit those fans as well?

The last part of what you wrote I agree with. There is a trade coming, because that would be the only logical explanation to the moves that have been made to an 8th or 7th seed at best.

[Bakomagic]

This new regime is Hennigan 2.

Hennigan? You mean the guy who fostered a losing culture by being too incompetent to make his pieces fit, gave away two of our best players when we started trending up, spent 20% of our cap on a third stringer, gave Jeff Green $15 million, and failed to make the playoffs in five years? If you think Weltman is the same then you're not paying attention.

"After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!"

Article Translation: "After making impressive strides over the past year, why didn't the Magic take steps back by renouncing the two players most responsible for those strides? Why did they pay fair market value for their all-star and sixth man of the year candidate? Even though they made the 7th seed this past season, their roster full of 21-23 year olds will never improve to help the team get a higher standing. Jonathan Isaac is a finished product at 21. I once wrote that Mo Bamba is as raw as it gets and won't make an impact on a team until at least 2 years from now, but now I don't understand why the Magic would want to bring him along slowly in role that makes sense for him and one that he can actually excel in. I'm too lazy to imagine a scenario where the Magic consolidate assets to upgrade their team. I am a clown who doesn't watch the Magic."

Wow this article from a random writer really triggered you to write all this...

To be fair, a lot of Magic fans that did watch most (if not all) games last season are asking the same questions. Are you going to discredit those fans as well?

The last part of what you wrote I agree with. There is a trade coming, because that would be the only logical explanation to the moves that have been made to an 8th or 7th seed at best.

The whole premise of the article seems off though doesn't it ?

the writer admits we made strides this year and the biggest reasons were, we played better defensively, while Vuc kept us in games offensively and TRoss finishing the team off in the fourth. So we took steps back by bringing our two best Offensive players back ?

We did not lose anyone of value and gained another good defender in Amino who has playoff experience.


The whole treadmill thing is BS, we didn't trade Bamba or any of our young players to make room for Free Agents. They are here, they will get the opportunity to show Clifford that they deserve to have bigger roles on the team and cliff will play the best player.

maybe the writer is worried about the loss of Jerian Grant ?

[Magic_Johnny12]

The following is from an article on Yardbarker. It says pretty much what I said on here a couple of days ago. This new regime is Hennigan 2.

After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!

They’re all assets and moveable contracts. We needed bigger movable contracts to act as fillers when that time came to go after a true difference maker.

Is Vucevic worth 48m more than Lopez? Yes.

Ask yourself how would it look to fans and other players around the NBA that we didn’t do everything in our power to retain our first all-star since Dwight? This could have looked horrible to potential future free agents, look what NYK is currently going through. This could have been a PR nightmare.

Ask yourself how would it look to managment if we simply let Vucevic walk for free and got nothing in return? Even at this contract he’s moveable and has positive trade asset value.

Vucevic was on bargain contract for four years of his career here, statistically has improved every season and wants to be here. There’s not a price tag you can put on loyalty.

Ross tied 5th in 6MOTY standings and has an elite skill that he doesn’t have to rely on athleticism. Again, he wants to be here and every opportunity he has to rep Orlando he does and that’s priceless. Became a quick fan favorite and deserves a contract for life for that alone.

There’s more to overall success than the x’s and o’s, like building a winning culture and retaining players that actually take pride for playing for the Magic.

Lastly, Aminu isn’t taking minutes from anyone

If you watched any Magic basketball last year you would blatantly see how noticeably small we were forced to go when the second unit came in.

We add a starter level/defensive presence to our depleted nonexistent bench, once again on a valued, movable asset contract.

You know the article is a joke when they say Aminu and Isaac are basically clones through Isaacs first two seasons. Umm GREAT

How in the actual fawk is that a bad thing lmao? You’re telling me we now have an elite defender with high offensive potential coming off the bench now? If that is indeed true WeHam deserves a statue outside the arena and we’re in better shape than a lot of people think.

And the most glaring positive of this is that it provides flexibility, flexibility to deal a player and not have to jeopardize the integrity of the position. Aminu started for a championship contending team and he will surely be missed (please visit the Portland and see the outrage yourself). He provides something no one on our team can offer.

Genuine playoff experience.

[PrimeThyme]

To be fair though, at this point in Henny's regime he had done a pretty good job and we were thought to be a young and upcoming team on the verge of making the playoffs. The thing that Weltman has done so far that Henny was never able to though is nail the coach. That will hopefully go along way, but I need to wait and see before I praise Weltman.

He needs a lot of things to go right this year because in March if we finish as the 10th seed and Fultz isnt healthy (meaning DJ/MCW is our rotation), Bamba is still almost unplayable, and Isaac doesn't make the next jump we are hoping for I think people will be looking at our situation a whole lot differently. Right now there is just a whole lot of unknown and hope.

[Skybox]

This new regime is Hennigan 2.

Hennigan? You mean the guy who fostered a losing culture by being too incompetent to make his pieces fit, gave away two of our best players when we started trending up, spent 20% of our cap on a third stringer, gave Jeff Green $15 million, and failed to make the playoffs in five years? If you think Weltman is the same then you're not paying attention.

"After making impressive strides over the past year, the Magic and Kings took a couple of steps backward in free agency with some bizarre signings earlier this week. Orlando’s front office all but built an artificial ceiling on its future by signing Nikola Vucevic (four-year, $100M), Terrence Ross (four-year, $54M) and Al-Farouq Aminu (three-year, $29M) to long-term deals.

I have a ton of questions for Magic GM John Hammond: How is Vucevic worth double what Brook Lopez is worth (four-year, $52M) in today’s NBA? (Hint: He isn’t -– don’t look at the playoff stats if you’re a Magic fan.) Are you giving up on Mo Bamba already? Would you rather pay Ross $13.5M per year for four years or Jeremy Lamb $10.3M per year for three years? ( Lamb is probably better .) Finally, why did you bring in Aminu to take minutes from Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac? If he never develops a jump shot, isn’t Jonathan Isaac basically Aminu? (They’re damn near clones of each other through Isaac’s first two seasons.) Enjoy competing for the seven and eight seeds the next four seasons, Magic fans!"

Article Translation: "After making impressive strides over the past year, why didn't the Magic take steps back by renouncing the two players most responsible for those strides? Why did they pay fair market value for their all-star and sixth man of the year candidate? Even though they made the 7th seed this past season, their roster full of 21-23 year olds will never improve to help the team get a higher standing. Jonathan Isaac is a finished product at 21. I once wrote that Mo Bamba is as raw as it gets and won't make an impact on a team until at least 2 years from now, but now I don't understand why the Magic would want to bring him along slowly in role that makes sense for him and one that he can actually excel in. I'm too lazy to imagine a scenario where the Magic consolidate assets to upgrade their team. I am a clown who doesn't watch the Magic."

Best summary post of this offseason

[Skybox]

These are the same "analyst" types that are praising the Sixers for Harris $180M and 33 year old Horford for $100M.

Exactly, if someone created artificial ceiling its 76ers. They dealt their whole promising youth and expect low tier stars ( harris, horford) to bring them over the hump. If they win championship kudos to them, but if not they shortened the window and lowered ceiling drastically. We unlike them are full of youth to develop behind veterans.

Yes. The Philly love is shocking to me. Horford is a very good player and presence-was perfect for BOS a couple years ago. Solid, reliable, 4th option, who steps up in big moments, etc. But just got overpaid for a compromised role. Every team in the league would be better off with Horford but he's quite old and it's a BIG contract for a more redundant role with PHI and Embiid. I get the benefits of having both but makes our Vuc re-sign (with Bamba) look absolutely beyond negative analysis...Then, they lose JJ, the best mentor type and example of hard work in the league while still contributing big-time on the court. I like Tobias, but MAX? In a vacuum, it's fine- but there's a player or two they won't get because of his deal. Most of all, they lose Butler- a hothead, etc but one of the top 2 way players in the league and a legit first-team all-NBA guy just a couple years ago (before he starting blowing teams up). I don't blame PHI for some of the moves being out of their control, but I cannot not see how they are better than last year and certainly not front-runners.

All of the BOS fans are despairing but they're still carrying a lot of talent and versatility and Kemba matches Kyrie's talent with a lot more hunger and team-friendly leadership.I consider them or MIL the leaders depending on Kawhi.

[fendilim]

Honestly, its a damn you do, damn you dont type of situation with these guys.

I bet these will be the same guys who would criticize us had we let go of vuc and tross for nothing.

[MagicMatic]

Honestly, its a damn you do, damn you dont type of situation with these guys.

I bet these will be the same guys who would criticize us had we let go of vuc and tross for nothing.

I’m glad they chose a direction. Again, completely dictated by a timeframe they boxed themselves into. 3 years into their tenure we can now accurately assess whether their moves make sense with their objectives.

Acquiring PF depth and adding a role playing F weren’t the missing pieces that were keeping this club from competing in the postseason, if they are selling that as their primary objective. There might be a bigger play at hand. Then again, they could also not have a real plan other than just waiting to see if Fultz pans out. I wouldn’t put either scenario past them.