NBA free agency looms ahead for the Orlando Magic next week and after their first postseason appearance in seven years, there are some important decisions for the franchise to make. While the Magic may very well be up against the salary cap, they have a decision about whether to retain two key players from last season, Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. 

Each player is an unrestricted free agent, so they can certainly leave on their own accord, but the Magic are likely to have a shot at retaining both of them. That breeds an interesting debate about whether Vucevic or Ross is more valuable to keep around. 

Vucevic is already a top ten player in Magic history who made his first All-Star team last year. He has increasingly improved his game, specifically areas that have been viewed as weak points for the big man, like defense and shooting. 

Ross, on the other hand, was one of the top role players off the bench in the NBA last season. He is an impact scoring guard on a team desperate for more players with that skill set and is the kind of player that would fit on the roster for many contending teams. 

There are certainly positives when evaluating both Vucevic and Ross and Orlando should do everything they can to keep both within reason. After finally making it back to the playoffs, the franchise has to find a way to continue that progress, not take a step back. 

With that being said, if I had to choose between to the two, I would resign Vucevic. He was the more impactful player for most of last season, has shown an ability to continue to improve and his character is something that is lauded across the league. 

While Ross has the opportunity to be a volume scorer, he has been an inconsistent player over his career. I have more faith in Vucevic being able to consistently replicate what he has done over the past year. 

The one knock on the Magic resigning their lone All-Star is that they have someone they would like to replace him. Orlando selected Mo Bamba early in last year's NBA Draft, but he got hurt and only played in 47 games. 

The jury is obviously still out on Bamba, but I do not think the Magic can bank on the potential of what he could be. Vucevic offers a solid track record, with little risk or concern about his performance level dropping off significantly. 

Other Orlando Sports Headlines

• Many have sat back and wondered why the Orlando Pride has struggled so much over their four seasons as a club despite employing superstar names like Alex Morgan, Marta and Ali Krieger. This year, with many key contributors gone for the World Cup, things have gotten even worse and the Pride got off to a 0-7-2 start. Even worse, Orlando only scored four goals in those first nine games. On Saturday, the Pride finally notched their first win, beating Sky Blue 2-1. The last two weeks have yielded much better results for the club, so we will see if they are turning over a new leaf. 
• Orlando City has not seen a lot of action due to an MLS-wide Gold Cup break, but things will begin to heat up for the team over the next month. They will play at least two matches for each of the next four weeks. While Orlando sits at ninth in the Eastern Conference table, they are just a point out of the playoffs at this pivotal point in the season. The club is on the upswing as well, winners of four of their last five, including two U.S. Open Cup matches. This may be a time on the calendar where Orlando typically falls out of things, but there is plenty of reason for hope, both in the USOC and for the MLS Playoffs. 
• UConn made a decision this week that rippled through the world of college athletics and certainly became a talking point among UCF fans. The Huskies are reportedly leaving the American Athletic Conference to take the majority of their sports back to the Big East Conference, while potentially competing as an independent in football. While this choice will make many UConn fans who have clamored for a return to their regional Big East rivalries, it has significant financial ramifications and fosters even more instability in an already wobbly Huskies football program. For the Knights, the school's departure can be viewed as a positive. It should strengthen their annual schedule and there will reportedly be no change to the recently agreed upon AAC television contract with ESPN.

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