NBA Free Agency: Magic to offer Nikola Vucevic four-year deal to stay in Orlando

The Orlando Magic are reportedly ready to offer Nikola Vucevic a four-year, $90 million deal to keep his talents in the Magic Kingdom.

If there were any questions that the Orlando Magic were serious about keeping Nikola Vucevic, they have apparently answered them.

According to multiple reports, the Magic are expected to offer their All-Star center a four-year deal worth $90 million as soon as free agency opens for business. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Magic’s front office is ready to get a deal done with Vucevic as quickly as possible.

When you average out the contract, Vucevic could be making $22.5 million per season, and according to a report from NBC Sports, no other team appears willing to come to that number for Vucevic, which could mean that he remains in Orlando for the foreseeable future.

This is a solid deal for both Vucevic and the Magic. The deal will allow Orlando to retain their All-Star and make him the centerpiece of an up-and-coming Orlando squad, and the contract will retain the flexibility for the Magic’s front office to offer their sixth-man, Terrence Ross, a reasonable contract to stay in Orlando as well.

This was a complete 180-degree turn for the Magic’s front office, who before the 2018-19 season, wasn’t really convinced that they could build a team around Vucevic. Ever since he landed in Central Florida in 2012, he’s been one of the East’s best centers; but because the Magic have been garbage for most of that time, no one noticed, and the new front office regime of Jeff Weltman and John Hammond didn’t have a lot of faith in him.

Then, Steve Clifford became the head coach, and he realized what he had in Vucevic and ran the offense through him, and the end result was a career year for the big man, a playoff berth, and, most importantly, renewed confidence that Vucevic can be “the man” in Orlando.