The Orlando Magic are having talks of change, which could lead to one or both of the team’s former starting point guard and center being shown the door sooner rather than later.
Orlando is reportedly looking to trade center Nikola Vucevic, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The team is also very much “down” on Elfrid Payton at the moment, and it looks like he could be on the chopping block as well.
Vucevic was moved to the second unit at the end of last month, a decision he wasn’t particularly on board with, but ultimately accepted and played through. In his new role, the 26-year-old big man has maintained his strong production with a near double-double of 13.5 points and 8.6 rebounds, along with 3.4 assists and 0.9 assists in 27.9 minutes over his last 10 appearances.
The offseason additions of both Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo were the writing on the wall that Vucevic was either going to have to deal with fewer minutes, or be dangled as a trading chip to improve other areas of the roster.
Payton also found himself getting demoted to the bench in favor of veteran D.J. Augustin. Nonetheless, his play as of late could buy him some good will as far as not being traded, as he’s contributing 15.3 points on 51.6 percent shooting, 6.9 assists, and 3.9 rebounds over his last eight games.
