ORLANDO, Fla. — The Magic will bring a former fan favorite center back to the team but see another fan-favorite center leave in free agency, according to multiple media reports.
President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced that Orlando has brought back center Nikola Vucevic and re-signed guard Jevon Carter and forward Jonathan Isaac.
The Magic have agreed with Vucevic on a one-year, $3.9 million to return to Orlando, ESPN reported first Monday. The deal was later confirmed by The Associated Press, which cited a person with knowledge of the talks, and multiple other media outlets.
But free-agent center Moe Wagner reached a two-year deal with the Nets to head to Brooklyn, leaving younger brother Franz Wagner in Orlando, The Associated Press reported. Multiple other media outlets reported the value of Moe Wagner’s deal as $19 million, with the second year an option that could be exercised by either him or the Nets.
Vucevic, who will be 36 in October, played for Orlando for nine seasons before being traded by the Magic with forward Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls in a deal that brought center Wendell Carter Jr., forward Otto Porter and two first-round draft picks to Orlando in 2021. One of those draft picks was used to select Franz Wagner as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The other draft pick was used to select Jett Howard as the No. 11 pick in the 2023 draft. Vucevic remained in Chicago until he was traded to the Boston Celtics in the middle of last season. He kept a home in Orlando after he was traded.
In his previous stint with the Magic, the 7-foot, 260-pound center was a calm offensive force for Orlando. In 591 career games with the Magic, he made the NBA All-Star Game twice and became the team’s all-time leader in field goals with 4,490. He averaged 17.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.9 blocks per game. His career averages are 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.9 blocks per game.
Moe Wagner, 28, spent six of his eight NBA seasons in Orlando, signing as a free agent the year before Franz was drafted.
The 6-foot-11, 245-pound center/forward was a fiery player in Orlando, often the emotional catalyst when the Magic needed to generate a comeback. Former Magic coach Jamahl Mosley used to say that Moe Wagner could roll out of bed and score 10 points. Coming off the bench, he averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists during his career in Orlando. Moe Wagner was having a career year in Orlando when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Dec. 21, 2024. When he was able to return in January 2026, the crowd gave him a standing ovation when he checked into the game for the first time. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 36 games after his return, but he did not play in every game, and his minutes dropped by nearly 7 minutes per game from the previous season.
Moe Wagner’s new deal with Brooklyn will pay him about twice per year what he made in Orlando last season ($5 million).
In other free-agent moves by the Magic on Wednesday, they re-signed guard Jevon Carter and forward Jonathan Isaac.
Orlando did not reveal the financial terms of any of the contracts they announced, as is standard for the team.
The decision to re-sign Isaac comes after they waived his contract last week. The move had to occur by June 28, or they would have owed Isaac $14.5 million for this season. The contract was guaranteed for $8 million, removing $6.5 million of his cap hit from their salaries this year. Under league rules, the Magic were able to re-sign Isaac as a free agent after clearing waivers because they did not stretch the $8 million that had been left on the contract. They still owe him that $8 million in addition to his new deal, which multiple league sources said was the league minimum.
Carter signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal, according to multiple league sources. He originally came to Orlando as a free agent on Feb. 6. He played in 30 games, with one start, last season, averaging 7.2 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game and also appeared in three of Orlando’s seven playoff games.
The Magic are cap-strapped this season, and their new signings leave their payroll at more than $211 million, which remains below the NBA’s punitive second apron. The NBA announced the second apron at $221.686 million. Their payroll jumped this season because the first year of forward Paolo Banchero’s rookie contract extension kicked in at $41.5 million. The Magic already were under contract to pay Franz Wagner more than $41.7 million, guard Desmond Bane more than $39.4 million and guard Jalen Suggs $32.4 million.
They still have one standard roster spot open.
The Magic were ousted in the first round of the playoffs last season for the third year in a row. They fired Mosley and hired Sean Sweeney, who was the associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs last season and has had a long career as an assistant coach.
Weltman said after the season that he liked the team’s roster but understood that he needed to look to add scoring and more skills and to improve the bench.
The roster now includes one new player in Vucevic, and they will lose Moe Wagner as well as free agent guard/center Jett Howard, whose contract was not extended. They drafted forward/center Izaiyah Nelson out of USF in the second round of the NBA Draft last month but have not signed him yet.