The Magic have finally done what pretty much everyone eventually expected them to do: Move Nikola Vucevic to the bench.
And he isn’t happy about it.
Per Zach Oliver of the Orlando Pinstriped Post:
Here’s what Nikola Vucevic had to say regarding tonight’s lineup change. pic.twitter.com/FeRHi1YklY
— Zach Oliver (@ZachOliverNBA) November 28, 2016
Bismack Biyombo took Vucevic’s spot in the starting five for the Magic’s Sunday night loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, sliding next to Serge Ibaka. Aaron Gordon also made his return to the opening lineup, replacing Jeff Green.
Though this isn’t necessarily the combination most of us would have predicted (it actually is), this change felt inevitable. The Magic have too many bigs on their roster, and while Vucevic always maintained he was the starter, he looked like the odd man out from the jump.
Yes, he’s the best passing big the Magic have, and he spaces the floor almost as well as Ibaka. But the Magic gave up two top prospects in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to get Ibaka, and they threw a four-year, $72 million contract at Biyombo. So while Vucevic is under contract through 2018-19, Orlando has more a commitment to the other two.
Now that the Magic are here, bringing Vucevic off the bench, it’s only a matter of time before his name enters the rumor mill. There is no successful way for them to juggle this many bigs, and the latest lineup tweak won’t do much for their relationship with Vucevic.
This logjam was always going to end with someone being moved, and if we’re being honest, that someone was always going to be the longest tenured big on the roster.
