Nikola Vucevic enjoys being back in a Magic uniform for the first time since being traded away five years ago, writes Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). The veteran center spent more than eight years in Orlando before being dealt to Chicago at the 2021 trade deadline. He returned to the team in free agency this summer and feels right at home, even though he’s surrounded by a new coaching staff and almost an entirely new roster.

“I gotta say I think I look pretty good in the blue with the stripes in white,” Vucevic said. “It felt pretty natural being back in that blue. It was good to be back. It was good to get out there with the guys, but I think the real, real feel will probably be on opening night. It was still nice to be out there and get a feel for it, so (we will) just continue to build on it.”

Vucevic made his preseason debut Wednesday at Memphis, finishing with nine points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. He figures to be the primary backup to Wendell Carter Jr. this season.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

• Magic coach Sean Sweeney offered updates on a few injured players after Saturday’s practice, Beede adds in the same piece. Anthony Black, who has a sprained right ankle, and Noah Penda, who’s dealing with a strained right hamstring, were both full participants for the second straight day. Jalen Suggs is making progress in his fight with an illness, but Sweeney didn’t guarantee that any of them will play in Sunday’s game at Cleveland. “For any of those guys, you can’t skip steps,” Sweeney said. “You can maybe take them a little faster, but, in general, it’s step-by-step.” Jonathan Isaac missed Wednesday’s contest due to personal reasons and wasn’t at the part of practice open to the media on Friday or Saturday.
• Luguentz Dort, who was acquired from Oklahoma City in an offseason trade, is making his preseason debut with the Hawks tonight, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). “It’s hard to say what position he is because he can guard almost every position,” coach Quin Snyder told reporters before the game. “There are some centers you can put him on.”
• Wizards big man Alex Sarr is also seeing his first preseason action tonight, marking his first game since undergoing surgery in June to repair a fracture in his right foot, notes Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).