The Orlando Magic has been in the league since 1989. They still haven't won an NBA championship yet but have reached the NBA Finals twice. The first one was in the young Shaquille O'neal Era in 1995 and the second one was in 2009 when Dwight Howard was at the peak of his career and is still dominating the league.
But the Orlando Magic is not a dominating team anymore. They missed the NBA postseason for four straight seasons and have a combined record of 103-225 over those woeful years.
This season, the Magic have a 7-11 win lost record. They are third in Southeast Division and 11th in the whole Eastern Conference. They lost four straight games before winning their last one against the hot San Antonio Spurs. They snapped the Spurs' nine-game winning streak.
With the departure of Victor Oladipo to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Evan Fournier and new acquisition Serge Ibaka is leading the charge for the Magic. Fournier is averaging a team-high 17.3 points to go along with 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 18 games this season. Serge Ibaka on the other hand is averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 47.9% shooting from the field and 88.2% from the foul line.
But one of the Magic's main players last season were move off the bench. Nikola Vucevic started the Magic's first 16 games. But he is now moved from the bench and Vogel made the decision to start new acquisition Bismack Biyombo. And according to Morning News USA, the reason behind the demotion is to get more energy and production.
But now that Vucevic was removed from the starting lineup, it is a sign that the Magic is ready to trade Vucevic soon? The Portland Trailblazers are said to be interested to acquire Vucevic from the Magic, as per YIBADA.
If the Magic is rich with dominant big men, the Blazers are the opposite. The Blazers have strong backcourt because of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. What the Blazers need is a quality big man to dominate the paint.
If Vucevic will be traded to the Blazers, the team will be a much better team. This season, Vucevic is averaging double-double with 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds. He is the player that the Blazers is looking for.
Vucevic is a very good low post player. He is also a skilled rebounding and can dominate inside the rim. With his size and athleticism, he might be a great help from the Blazers' misery inside the paint.
Will Nikola Vucevic play for the Portland Trailblazers or will he stay with the Orlando Magic and embrace his new role as a sixth man?
