NBA Trade 2018-19: Moves That Almost Happened

3. Nikola Vucevic to the San Antonio Spurs:

Orlando Magic managed to keep their All-Star Center, but things could have been different

Nikola Vucevic is having the best season of his career currently, averaging 20.6 points per game, along with 11.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game as well. He is one of the few big men who can score the ball from the 3 as well as create a shot for their teammates. He is defending at an elite level too, averaging 1.2 blocks per game, along with 0.9 steals as well. He is a great player this season but if the Magic have Bamba in their long term plans, they needed to trade Vucevic and the Spurs were one of the best options there.

The San Antonio Spurs apparently had interest in trading for Vucevic, one of the few big men who still manages to post up with a certain skill that Gregg Popovich highly admires. He would also be a massive upgrade over Jakob Poeltl, Pau Gasol, and Dante Cunningham. Acquiring Vucevic and his Bird rights would allow San Antonio to add a third major piece to its core of DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge that it otherwise wouldn’t be able to sign this summer. A deal including any of Derrick White, Pau Gasol, Davis Bertans and a future pick would have certainly been intriguing for the Magic. But with the deadline over, Vucevic is still a part of the Orlando Magic roster.