HOUSTON — Nikola Vucevic is upset.
The usually mild-mannered Orlando Magic center railed against Magic fans who slammed teammate D.J. Augustin in questions for a mailbag article published recently by The Athletic.
Vucevic read the mailbag and felt compelled to bring it up after Augustin’s 24-point performance in Sunday night’s 126-106 victory over the Houston Rockets.
At issue was a question by a fan who asked, “Why does D.J. Augustin continue to get minutes when he is by far the worst player that the Magic have awarded minutes to this season?”
The description of Augustin as “by far the worst player” and the 12 likes the question received on Twitter angered Vucevic when he read the mailbag Friday, and he was still so irate after Sunday’s victory that he addressed the subject after he was asked by a reporter from the team website about Augustin’s performance against the Rockets.
“I saw Josh did a Q&A with fans, and they were all going at D.J. and saying all this stupid stuff,” Vucevic said. “They have no idea. I mean, they’re just saying stupid stuff. They have no idea. They were just saying stupid stuff that made no sense and calling him the ‘worst player’ and this and that. As a ‘Pure Magic’ fan, you don’t say things like that. Honestly, it pissed me off because I know D.J., how much he cares and how much of a pro he is and how much he’s given (to the team).”
The original question The Athletic selected for the mailbag was one of several questions from readers about Augustin’s playing time since the All-Star break, and it was written by Keanu Kargar, a 17-year-old high school student who lives in Volusia County and describes himself as a lifelong Magic fan.
On Monday morning, The Athletic asked Kargar if he wanted to respond to Vucevic’s criticism, and Kargar responded immediately via direct message on Twitter.
“I believe that what I said could be a little biased based off of recent results,” Kargar said. “When D.J. Augustin is at full strength, he is this team’s second-best player off the bench behind Terrence (Ross). I believe that this season (D.J.) has been very lackluster. All of his stats and percentages have dropped a significant amount, especially his 3-point percentage. He is also somewhat a liability defensively.
“I agree with Nikola that it is not something you say as a Magic fan. But treating every player fairly, the D.J. of this season is a weakness on this team even coming off the bench. While I’m not playing on the court and I’m just watching the game, it’s fairly easy to see the offense runs a lot smoother with (Markelle) Fultz in the game. D.J. is a great mentor for Markelle and he is very important to this team, but I personally think that he should not be played until he fully is healthy. He didn’t look like it last week, but (Sunday) he looked very good.”
After stellar seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 — seasons in which he shot 42 percent from 3-point range — Augustin slumped in the early stages this season and was demoted in order to allow Fultz to start at point guard.
After a strong December and first half of January, tendinitis in his left knee forced Augustin to miss 15 consecutive games.
When Augustin returned following the All-Star break, he was rusty — rust that showed in a 1-for-7 shooting game in a March 2 blowout loss to Portland and an 0-for-4 shooting night March 4 in a narrow defeat to Miami.
When The Athletic originally asked for questions for a mailbag, another fan said of Augustin, “He’s been ass this whole year, literally had 1 good year.” Yet another fan asked: “What part of ‘contract year’ (does) DJ Augustin not understand? And seriously should cliff think about give DJ DNPs and give his minutes to Iwandu?”
Vucevic considers the harsh criticism of Augustin, a 32-year-old in his 12th NBA season, offensive.
Augustin is one of the most respected players on the Orlando roster. When the team played a game in Augustin’s hometown of New Orleans in December, the entire Magic traveling party — players, coaches and support staffers — attended a ceremony in which Augustin’s New Orleans high school retired his old jersey number.
So Vucevic was surprised that Augustin was facing such blunt criticism from Magic fans.
“When I saw that,” Vucevic said, “it was really disappointing to see the fans write things like that about somebody that’s a true pro and that’s been in this league for so long. And he just came back from an injury. He tries. It’s just things weren’t working for him. So it happens. Everybody goes through a rough stretch.”
The Magic need Augustin, in part, because his 3-point-shooting ability stretches defenses and opens space for his teammates.
On Sunday, he sank seven of his 10 shot attempts overall, including four of six from 3-point range.
Asked how important it is for Augustin to regain his rhythm, coach Steve Clifford answered, “He was in the middle of everything both halves tonight. You can tell he’s getting his rhythm back, and it’s not just his shot-making. It’s his play-making also.”
Vucevic feels the same way about Augustin.
“To accept a lesser role when you had a great year starting last year says a lot about him,” Vucevic said.
“D.J. is a huge part of what we do. Last year, he had an amazing season, and this year was a little tough for him. He had to go back to the bench, play with the second unit. It’s a different look for him, and then he had the injury. Before he even had injuries, he was fighting it for a little bit. So he just never really got in a rhythm, and tonight was great, showing what he can do.”
(Photo of D.J. Augustin and Nikola Vucevic: Gary Bassing / NBAE via Getty Images)