Nikola Vucevic Appreciation Thread

[fendilim]

What did this organization do to our Nikola Vučević ?!?!?!?

[img]

Read on Twitter

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These bums broke Vuc's heart and spit on his soul. They literally drove him outta town and left him no choice but to accept (not welcome or request!!!) the stupid trade.

I know all people over here are feeling enthusiastic and upbeat. All of us should be feeling hopeful and happy about the fact that this organization and roster finally has a clearly defined path forward in its development. I totally share the same view and hopes, but...

This is our VUC we're talking about. We should have treated him better, from the fans to the organization.
There were stupid coaches like Vogel who decided it is a good idea to bench the future all-star and probably one of the best Magic man in club's history all time...for freaking Bismack Biyombo goooddamnit.

Sure, the Magic organization rewarded Vuc's effort 2 years ago with that fat contract that was more than well deserved. But...we should have treated him better. This franchise should have really tried not to screw up the first or second or third rebuild of the rebuilds and so on.

And now, the magic left him hanging and drove him out of Orlando in this lopsided trade for Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter. Yes, the Bulls 1st round pick is fine, but it does not guarantee us anything.

I'm perfectly aware that this is business and business above all. But we should have treated Vuc a lot better. He gave us all he had, he "came in as a kid and left as a man" by his own words. He was always professional in every way. Never created any problems for the team, for the coaches or the franchise He was always positive and professional in everything he did - from interviews to community work and performance on the court.

He always showed up in great shape after disappointing losing (tanking) seasons of messed-up drafts and trades during the Henny and Weltman eras. Always in shape, never injured or overweight. He took great care of his body and played his heart out for the Magic. He was extremely loyal to the club and project, loyal to the process when it almost never made any sense, but still loyal

Just imagine those nightmare years after the Dwightmare and during the Hennigan tenure...just imagine those years without Vucevic. It would have been unbearable, at least for me, a die-hard Magic fan since 1993.

Maybe I'm just too emotional in my reaction after I saw the Vuc video in the Bulls sweater with their logo. I always knew this time will come and we'll miss Nik, but maaan it hurts! It just broke my heart seeing our guy in tears and lost for words when Orlando and the Magic is on his mind. He couldn't even mention the name, he was so emotional and nostalgic.

I just needed to get this out of my system and share it with you guys, Magic basketball.

We should have treated Nikola Vučević better and kept him for the rest of his career with us. He would have liked that and would have never rejected such a plan.

We should have treated Vuc better...

I blame josh for suddenly appearing in that press conference and putting vuc in a tough spot haha

[Blue_and_Whte]

Read on Twitter

Play well big fella. But not too well!

Makes me wish the trade could be cancelled. You rarely find players who go through absolute bull from the FO to the fans and still bust their ass For that team. Not only that but one who obviously has so much genuine love for this city and team. He was hands down the hardest worker as he evolved his game despite his limitations athletically.

I hope Bulls fans a more appreciative and most importantly I hope he has the chance to compete for the title he deserves.

[Skin]

Read on Twitter

Play well big fella. But not too well!

Come back to us in 2 years Vuc! We'll be a better team and you can be our cherry on top. We couldn't rebuild properly because you were just too good. Now we can bottom out and hopefully develop some stars for you to play with instead of the scrubs you had to play with.

[penny_nz]

Man that's hard to watch, that kind of loyalty and genuine care for the team he played for is so rare these days.

I wish we could have won with him, I wish he could have stayed and seen us reach highs post rebuild. But I do believe WeHam made the right long term call for the Magic

[OrlandoSaban]

What did this organization do to our Nikola Vučević ?!?!?!?

[img]

Read on Twitter

[/img]

These bums broke Vuc's heart and spit on his soul. They literally drove him outta town and left him no choice but to accept (not welcome or request!!!) the stupid trade.

I know all people over here are feeling enthusiastic and upbeat. All of us should be feeling hopeful and happy about the fact that this organization and roster finally has a clearly defined path forward in its development. I totally share the same view and hopes, but...

This is our VUC we're talking about. We should have treated him better, from the fans to the organization.
There were stupid coaches like Vogel who decided it is a good idea to bench the future all-star and probably one of the best Magic man in club's history all time...for freaking Bismack Biyombo goooddamnit.

Sure, the Magic organization rewarded Vuc's effort 2 years ago with that fat contract that was more than well deserved. But...we should have treated him better. This franchise should have really tried not to screw up the first or second or third rebuild of the rebuilds and so on.

And now, the magic left him hanging and drove him out of Orlando in this lopsided trade for Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter. Yes, the Bulls 1st round pick is fine, but it does not guarantee us anything.

I'm perfectly aware that this is business and business above all. But we should have treated Vuc a lot better. He gave us all he had, he "came in as a kid and left as a man" by his own words. He was always professional in every way. Never created any problems for the team, for the coaches or the franchise He was always positive and professional in everything he did - from interviews to community work and performance on the court.

He always showed up in great shape after disappointing losing (tanking) seasons of messed-up drafts and trades during the Henny and Weltman eras. Always in shape, never injured or overweight. He took great care of his body and played his heart out for the Magic. He was extremely loyal to the club and project, loyal to the process when it almost never made any sense, but still loyal

Just imagine those nightmare years after the Dwightmare and during the Hennigan tenure...just imagine those years without Vucevic. It would have been unbearable, at least for me, a die-hard Magic fan since 1993.

Maybe I'm just too emotional in my reaction after I saw the Vuc video in the Bulls sweater with their logo. I always knew this time will come and we'll miss Nik, but maaan it hurts! It just broke my heart seeing our guy in tears and lost for words when Orlando and the Magic is on his mind. He couldn't even mention the name, he was so emotional and nostalgic.

I just needed to get this out of my system and share it with you guys, Magic basketball.

We should have treated Nikola Vučević better and kept him for the rest of his career with us. He would have liked that and would have never rejected such a plan.

We should have treated Vuc better...

This is all part of the overall plan. To build up the team and let Vuc come back to win a championship before retiring. He had to be moved before any of that will ever happen.

[Hogified05]

I get trading Evan and AG...specially AG..he asked out. Unless Vuc asked out what was the harm in keeping the only all star we've had all decade who wanted to be here? We would have gotten a top pick with him with Evan and AG gone. Add a top pick along with Fultz, Isaac coming back with Vuc we could at least been competitive God forbid.

I dunno. I get it but damn. If dude wanted to finish his career here it would have been actually nice to see a Magic man be able to.

[RookieStar]

If this was our FO masterplan:

Trade Vuc foe those assets
Vuc sabotages the other team to maximize asset
Use those assets to assemble a contender
When Vuc hits FA, sign him back
Vuc leads Magic to its first ever championship
Retire Vuc and Dieners jersey

Id build and drop flowers to the statue if WeHam and Martins if that happens.

[zaymon]

I get trading Evan and AG...specially AG..he asked out. Unless Vuc asked out what was the harm in keeping the only all star we've had all decade who wanted to be here? We would have gotten a top pick with him with Evan and AG gone. Add a top pick along with Fultz, Isaac coming back with Vuc we could at least been competitive God forbid.

I dunno. I get it but damn. If dude wanted to finish his career here it would have been actually nice to see a Magic man be able to.

I love Vucevic but those picks are good. Look at Chicago, are they really so much better than us 1-2 years ago ?

[cedric76]

We need to retire his Number

[Skin]

We need to retire his Number

I feel terrible about all the negative things I said about Vuc. Not having direct personal connections to players put us in an unfair position to judge them without knowing them. I've been mean. I regret it. I have simply NEVER seen a player react so emotionally to being traded from any team in any sport. Not even Tom Brady showed that. The sports business has a way of telling us that everything is "just a business" so we tuck away all emotions.

How Vuc feels is real, is honest and I would proudly support his jersey being retired because if a franchise cannot reciprocate love to it's players who put all their heart in it to the point they break long standing franchise records, then that franchise is missing the whole spirit of the entire purpose of retiring jerseys.

See you in the Summer of '23 Vuc!

[pepe1991]

Vuc as kid moved around a lot, Vuc in primary schoold was moved around, Vuc in highschool moved, Vuc moved to another contitnent for college. Guy in Orlando was trully home, only place where he stayed so long. Ofc guy has strong emotional connection with a team.

There is something to be said about loyal athletes in this sport. In years where guys just skip teams to go to big market to have best strippers and bang Kardashians there are still few ones who stay humble and with human qualities. Vuc is one of them.

Trading him to team with 18-25 record was kind a dic* move but it is what it is.

[zaymon]

Vuc as kid moved around a lot, Vuc in primary schoold was moved around, Vuc in highschool moved, Vuc moved to another contitnent for college. Guy in Orlando was trully home, only place where he stayed so long. Ofc guy has strong emotional connection with a team.

There is something to be said about loyal athletes in this sport. In years where guys just skip teams to go to big market to have best strippers and bang Kardashians there are still few ones who stay humble and with human qualities. Vuc is one of them.

Trading him to team with 18-25 record was kind a dic* move but it is what it is.

Its sad that of all our guys he landed in the worst spot. It will be so painful to root against Chicago this year and 2023. I think Weltman prepared a cruel trap for Bulls. They think they can make playoffs with Williams/Markannen/Lavine wing/forward rotation ? Isaac was twice as good as Williams in 2018/2019, both he and Gordon made us work on defence. Bulls will propably have to start Aminu soon..... Vucevic will get eaten alive on defense. On the other hand Carter will benefit with our better perimeter defense (if Harris plays). I am so happy and sad at the same time. This pick should be very good.

[axl_c_cool]

Retire the Jersey, bring him back in 23, after 2 tanks, and a developed core. Evan can even come off the bench then too if he wants

Sent from my SM-G950F using RealGM mobile app

[RickB-Orlando]

I’ve taken a few days to think about this move and how it aligns with the other trades we made. I completely agree with the trades of Fournier and Gordon. I think the Gordon deal was a good one, though I think we waited a year too long to move Fournier. And I also understand that it’s better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.

But Vooch is in the prime of his career, he’s a an anchor player who gives more than Dwight Howard did on offense. Sure, they’re not the same defensively but very few are. This is a guy who grew up with the franchise and over the past couple of years has just excelled. Clearly team management thought he was good enough to lead the team deep into the playoffs.

This is a team that is devastated by injuries to two key players in Fultz and Isaac, not to mention extended absences by Anthony, TRoss and others. Three nice assets (2 first rounders and a very young center) is a decent return but I just can’t agree with this trade. Bad decision by WeltHam and I wish there was some way to undo it.

[p0peye]

As emotional as we are watching this, it will make even less sense signing Vučević back in 2023 unless we draft another Luka and sign someone like Beal or better along. In case he drops significantly, we could sign him for vet minimum or similar to let him retire here, if that is what he prefers to chasing rings instead.

[drsd]

The long version of the Vučević interview:

Watch on YouTube

[MagicStarwipe]

Put him in the Magic hall of fame, give him a role in the organisation once he retires, maybe even bring him back for cheap later in his career if it makes sense for us, but I'm not on board with jersey retirement. I just don't think he achieved enough for that honour. Especially if we're not even going to retire Dwight's number.

[rcklsscognition]

Vuc debut leads Bulls in scoring. What a stud. I'm not even going to watch that video of him crying, I can't bear it.

[MaKiaVeLi7]

What did this organization do to our Nikola Vučević ?!?!?!?

[img]

Read on Twitter

[/img]

These bums broke Vuc's heart and spit on his soul. They literally drove him outta town and left him no choice but to accept (not welcome or request!!!) the stupid trade.

I know all people over here are feeling enthusiastic and upbeat. All of us should be feeling hopeful and happy about the fact that this organization and roster finally has a clearly defined path forward in its development. I totally share the same view and hopes, but...

This is our VUC we're talking about. We should have treated him better, from the fans to the organization.
There were stupid coaches like Vogel who decided it is a good idea to bench the future all-star and probably one of the best Magic man in club's history all time...for freaking Bismack Biyombo goooddamnit.

Sure, the Magic organization rewarded Vuc's effort 2 years ago with that fat contract that was more than well deserved. But...we should have treated him better. This franchise should have really tried not to screw up the first or second or third rebuild of the rebuilds and so on.

And now, the magic left him hanging and drove him out of Orlando in this lopsided trade for Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter. Yes, the Bulls 1st round pick is fine, but it does not guarantee us anything.

I'm perfectly aware that this is business and business above all. But we should have treated Vuc a lot better. He gave us all he had, he "came in as a kid and left as a man" by his own words. He was always professional in every way. Never created any problems for the team, for the coaches or the franchise He was always positive and professional in everything he did - from interviews to community work and performance on the court.

He always showed up in great shape after disappointing losing (tanking) seasons of messed-up drafts and trades during the Henny and Weltman eras. Always in shape, never injured or overweight. He took great care of his body and played his heart out for the Magic. He was extremely loyal to the club and project, loyal to the process when it almost never made any sense, but still loyal

Just imagine those nightmare years after the Dwightmare and during the Hennigan tenure...just imagine those years without Vucevic. It would have been unbearable, at least for me, a die-hard Magic fan since 1993.

Maybe I'm just too emotional in my reaction after I saw the Vuc video in the Bulls sweater with their logo. I always knew this time will come and we'll miss Nik, but maaan it hurts! It just broke my heart seeing our guy in tears and lost for words when Orlando and the Magic is on his mind. He couldn't even mention the name, he was so emotional and nostalgic.

I just needed to get this out of my system and share it with you guys, Magic basketball.

We should have treated Nikola Vučević better and kept him for the rest of his career with us. He would have liked that and would have never rejected such a plan.

We should have treated Vuc better...

Dude... it is sad for him but jesus... step off the ledge. That was a lot of effort that went into a post for someone you likely don't even personally know. Take it down a few pegs. It's not that serious. He got traded, not killed. He will still be welcomed here.

The nostalgia hit me out of the blue 48 hours after the trade. I was just emotional, even watched the Bulls getting blowout by the Spurs yesterday.

We gonna miss him for sure.

[thelead]

Put him in the Magic hall of fame, give him a role in the organisation once he retires, maybe even bring him back for cheap later in his career if it makes sense for us, but I'm not on board with jersey retirement. I just don't think he achieved enough for that honour. Especially if we're not even going to retire Dwight's number.

100%

To add, he deserves a standing ovation with a tribute video next year when the arena is packed with fans.