So Nikola Vucevic is the big man that Danny should be chasing and here's why:
I'm a little crazy, but I went and watched film on a couple of prospects that I believed would could help our weak frontcourt that were young, available, and on fairly good contracts.
Of the prospects that I scouted (Monroe and Faried), Nikola Vucevic stood out as the best fit for this team defensively, offensively, contract-wise, age-wise, and talent-wise.
When looking for a big that will fit well within Stevens offense they will need a couple of important qualities which includes good passing ability with vision, ability to stretch the floor, and ability to be effective in pick & roll and pick & pop situations.
To start off, Vucevic has continually exhibited solid vision out of the high post and on the block. This year per 36 he's averaging 3.6 APG on a solid 18.4% AST%. Comparatively, Horford averaged roughly a 15% AST% before topping out at 18.6% in his best passing year as a Hawk. Of course he's exploded now in Boston, 26%, but it just gives you an idea at how proficient Vucevic is as a passer. In Brad's offense him and Horford would interchange between the high post and low post and use their combination of vision out of the post and skill on the block and in the faceup game to dominate other teams.
As a shooter in Steven's offense we've all seen how great a reliable mid-range jumpshot can be, Tyler Zeller. While not an especially great 3 point shooter, 33%, he has consistently show an ability to knock down the mid-range jumpshot. Despite having a down year by his standards, 37.5% from the midrange, in both years before Serge Ibaka came to Orlando Vucevic averaged 48% in 2016 and 46% in 2015 from the mid-range. In fact before the 2016-17 season he never averaged less than 40 % from 16 ft out to the 3 since his rookie year. In comparison, a notoriously good mid-range jumpshooter LaMarcus Aldridge has never even come close to touching Vucevic's 48% from the mid range and few of us would argue whether a player like LaMarcus Aldridge would be a great fit in our offense.
To get an idea of how good his mid-range jumpshot is check out this vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZNi1xSb4QU&t=93sIn this video not only does he work a lot of his posessions out of the high post, where he would in our offense, but he exhibits a beautiful stroke and a face up ability that a player like Amir Johnson doesn't have. He also knocks down 5 mid-range jumpshots.
Per NBA.com, Nikola Vucevic may not be the most elite pick-n-roll man, but comparatively he has shown he can be dangerous out of these situations. So far this year he is averaging .88 PPP in Pick-n-Roll situations, pretty sure this includes pick-n-pop plays as well, at a 40% conversion rate. To give you perspective this is better than Marc Gasol (.70 PPP, 29.85%), LaMarcus Aldridge (.80 PPP, 38.9%), and Draymond Green (.77 PPP, 41.2 %). So not only will his skills in the floor spacing and passing department fit well within our system, but his ability to work in the pick-n-roll would also make him a dangerous cog in our offense.
Basketball of course isn't played on one side of the court and this is were we find one of the few warts that Vucevic's game has. Despite improving as a defender each and every year, he still wouldn't be considered anything more than a league average defender. What makes a good fit for our philosophy are his solid foot speed and length. After watching the tape it's clear that he isn't the greatest defender, but he shows glimpses. For example, he has solid quickness to contain ballhandlers off the pick-n-roll, he uses his mass when battling opposing bigs in the post to keep them from establishing good positioning, has solid enough length to bother shots around the rim, and does a great job of keeping big men off the boards and is a fantastic defensive rebounder.
Along with his fit in our system, his elite rebounding ability (14 RPG per 36), his youth at 26, and a contract that is signed throughout 2019 for roughly only 12 mil per year (what Amir is making right now) I believe that we should make some legitimate offers for the Magic big man because of the value that he offers on the trade market and for our frontcourt.
With his inability to fit well with Orlando's other frontcourt options and how much they already have invested in Biyombo and Ibaka , I think that Vucevic could be had for a relatively cheap price tag.
Now what do you guys have to say about this guy?
Put some solid trade scenarios on here for us.