BROOKLYN — Nikola Vucevic does not remember his one career playoff appearance all too fondly.
“It was against Boston, we were down by a lot, and they let me get in, he said with a shrug.”
Garbage time. That happened back in his rookie season with the Philadelphia in 2012, and it does not look as though Vucevic will be playing career postseason game No. 2 any time soon. His team lost 114-110 Wednesday night to the Brooklyn Nets despite Vucevic’s 21 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, and a late offensive goaltending call against him was the key play of the game.
So Orlando dropped to 20-28, which leaves them 11th in the Eastern Conference. They are only three games behind the Miami Heat, but they do not exactly have a roster that inspires fear.
Some players might want out, and Terrence Ross is the player most frequently mentioned in trade rumors.
Vucevic, a guy who has now logged 503 career regular-season games?
Where is his mind at when it comes to what happens in early February when the NBA trade deadline arrives?
Where would he like to play?
“Here, the Magic. We just have to fight our way out of this. We’ve been in a lot of close games, blown a lot of leads, but I think we have what it takes to make a run and get right back into the playoffs,” Vucevic said.
It has been six years since Orlando even played a postseason game, and eight years since they won one. Vucevic is part of a starting five that arguably includes four keepers — himself, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Jonathan Isaac, but the point guard position has been a question mark all season, and the Magic and Suns have been the teams deemed most likely to find a new playmaker by Feb. 7.
Their first-round draft pick from last June, Mo Bamba, is clearly still a work in progress.
Coach Steve Clifford was asked how much of the loss could be contributed to not having a star player.
He did not dispute the premise of the question.
“It’s the most important thing that you can have in any NBA game is a guy that can go get a shot or create help so his teammate gets a shot. It’s the number one thing you want.”
Orlando has not had a superstar since Dwight Howard departed for Los Angeles more than a half-decade ago, and they are the epitome of a team that is merely treading water.
They have only one extra draft pick coming their way, an Oklahoma City Thunder pick in 2020 that is top-20 protected. If Orlando does not get it in 2020, it becomes a pair of second-round picks.
Their cap is clogged right now by Timofey Mozgov (making $16 million this season and $16.7 million next season). Gordon has three years and $54 million remaining on his deal, and Fournier is due to make $17 million in each of the next two seasons. Augustin has one more year at $7.25 million, and Simmons has one more year at $5.7 million.
Vucevic will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and priority No. 1 will likely be re-signing him.
The question is whether another team will come in and make him a max offer in a situation where he has a better chance of winning.
That is, is he wants to be a winner.
Vucevic said players such as Andre Iguodala, J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson inspired him early in his career, but he is no longer surrounded by anyone who seems do be doing more than pulling down a paycheck.
Many NBA executives say the worst thing you can ever become is a team that is locked into fighting for the eighth seed year after year after year, but that is sort of what the Orlando Magic are right now.
So when it comes down to projecting what an updated 10 Players Most Likely To Be Traded list might look like, do not expect Vucevic’s name to appear on it.
He is content being on a sub-.500 team with little promise over the next few seasons, which makes you wonder: Does he want to be a winner?
If he does, greener pastures will most likely be found by going somewhere else when July 1 rolls around.
If he doesn’t, more mediocrity awaits him for the next five years in Orlando is he gets a max deal.
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