The Chicago Bulls‘ plan to return to prominence began ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline. They surprised many people when they pulled off a deal to acquire Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic. At the time, it panned as a successful deal for Chicago as they finally got an All-Star caliber player to pair with Zach LaVine.
Alas, not even two years removed from that trade being made, the Bulls are already having some buyer’s remorse. Vucevic has not panned out as well as the team was hoping that he would, especially when taking into consideration the other moves that were made to improve the roster.
Vucevic sometimes looks out of place on offense, watching LaVine and Demar DeRozan take turns offensively. Not making much of an impact on the defensive end, Vucevic has not been overly impactful.
While some things could be done to help accommodate him a little more, it sounds as if Chicago is ready to pull the plug on Vucevic as their starting center. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, no substantial contract talks have been held.
“There are no ongoing contract extension conversations between the Bulls and Nikola Vucevic, sources told Yahoo Sports. Chicago never truly had significant negotiations to restructure its starting center’s deal. Whether that points to greater trade activity with the Bulls, of course, remains to be seen.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Nikola Vucevic & Chicago Bulls Updates
Bulls management believes when the roster is healthy, they are a playoff team, so it may take a few more weeks for any real trade talks to occur. However, it is up for debate how healthy Chicago is going to get as there is still no timetable for Lonzo Ball to return to the court from his balky knee.
Regardless of how good they feel the team can be, if there are no plans of keeping Vucevic around long-term, they should explore his trade market. Getting some value in exchange for him now is infinitely better than allowing him to walk in free agency this upcoming summer and receiving no compensation in return.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Nikola Vucevic & Chicago Bulls Updates
Ownership may want to avoid rebuilding, but that could be the best course of action. If a team such as the Los Angeles Lakers offers two future first-round picks for Vucevic and DeRozan, the Bulls will have to think long and hard about making a deal.
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