Vucevic doesn't have to be a superstar. Can he just be a better and younger version of Horford for the next few years while also having an immune system that's better than Porzingis?
In the last three years of play-in games (4 games), he's averaged 16/12, and in the 2021 postseason first round he averaged 19/12. And on this team, he's not being asked to be the first or even second option, he can just be the 3rd or consistent 4th option and do his thing.
Also looking at social media, this guy strikes me as someone who would be motivated to be on a winning team and a consistent playoff team beyond the play-in. He's even voiced his displeasure about constantly being a mediocre play-in team and in his whole career, he's only played 16 playoff games total and never gotten beyond the first round. There's even a clip online where earlier this season after they barely beat a terrible team, Vucevic was openly ticked during the interview and Jalen Smith came over all smiles and asking Vucevic to be happy about the win, and he got ticked at Smith and continued being so lol.
He's 35 years old, yes, but he's been durable and solid his whole career. If he can just raise his efforts/skills on defense a bit, he's already a walking 16/10+ big man. We've seen guys like Porzingis, Simons, etc. come here and improve on that end. I'm sure Vucci-Mane can do the same.