Report: Celtics, Hornets interested in trading for Nikola Vucevic

The Celtics and Hornets reportedly are interested in trading for Nikola Vucevic.

Of course they are. Doesn’t mean the Magic are interested in trading him.

Truth is, Vooch probably has become too good to be traded, with the return packages that will be offered unlikely to be lucrative enough to make the deal worthwhile.

Still, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Boston and Charlotte are among the teams interested in the All-Star center.

“Rival teams expect that any haul for Vucevic would have to be massive. The 7-foot big man is having his best NBA season, averaging 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range.”

Vucevic’s age may not perfectly line up with the Magic’s timeline, which seemingly centers around their recently-extended and injured duo of Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. But if the Magic get lucky in the draft or somehow land a valuable free agent, Vooch and his newfound outside shooting ability could still be a very valuable piece for years to come.

It doesn’t seem like the Celtics or Hornets — outside of the players they probably wouldn’t part with like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Lonzo Ball, of course — have the assets in place to convince the Magic to pull the trigger on a deal (the Kemba Walker chatter needs to stop immediately). Unless the Magic intend to go into all-out tank and rebuild mode.

But the always-loyal Vucevic, who is under contract for the next two seasons ($24 million in 2021-2022 and $22 million in 2022-2023) seems quite content in Orlando....

Shams also reported that Minnesota has shown interest in Aaron Gordon, noting that the two teams had “substantive conversations” prior to Gordon’s ankle injury. The talks, he adds, are expected to resume when AG is back at full strength.

Trading Gordon, Evan Fournier and/or Khem Birch is much more likely (and much more welcome) than dealing Vooch.