The most glaring hole in the Bulls roster is large — pun intended — and hard to miss: None of the trio of Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins and Jalen Smith is a long-term answer at center. Chicago needs to address the frontcourt if it hopes to contend anytime soon, and the obvious move could be staring up from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bulls could swing a trade for Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, an idea raised by Bleacher Report‘s Greg Swartz.
Claxton makes sense for Chicago on multiple fronts. He’s long, athletic and fits the archetype the team needs behind poor perimeter defenders like Josh Giddey and Coby White. Vucevic certainly does not fit that mold, nor does Smith. While Collins is stronger and more athletic than those two, he’s not the interior defensive presence Claxton is.
Of course, it all depends on cost, but finding an agreement with the Nets is an opportunity Chicago’s front office needs to seriously explore.
Bulls could upgrade at center with trade for Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton
The most attractive part of Claxton’s game is his combination of length, athleticism and shot-blocking instincts. His wingspan measured more than 7 feet, 2 inches at the 2019 NBA Draft combine, with his standing reach hitting the 9-foot-2 mark. At 6-foot-11 but a relatively thin 215 pounds, his ideal position lies at power forward, but he hasn’t shown the offensive skill set necessary to function there.
Still, he’s been a productive rim runner and defender. The 26-year-old has started 229 games over his six NBA seasons with averages of 10.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. But he’s been a legitimate force the last three campaigns.
In 2022-23, Claxton finished in the top 10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting after averaging 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 76 games, all starts. He shot 70.8 percent on two-point field goal attempts and pulled down 2.4 offensive rebounds per contest. The following season, he averaged 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 offensive boards to go along with 2.1 blocks.
From 2022 through last year, Claxton swatted 435 shots. Over that same span, Vucevic recorded 169 blocks, Collins 130 (0.7 per game) and Smith 142 (0.7 per game). Matas Buzelis led the team as a rookie with 75, while Claxton racked up 100, almost twice as many as Vucevic, the Bulls’ incumbent starting center.
Chicago would ideally field a pick-and-roll lob threat and offensive rebounder at the five spot next to Giddey. More than 30 percent of Claxton’s shot attempts have been dunks; he had 119 last year and 625 of them over his six NBA seasons. Smith led all Bulls centers with 27 dunks in 2024-25, and Vucevic has 437 total in 14 seasons.
Working out a trade for Claxton, which should be possible given the Nets’ current emphasis on youth and asset collection, would mean a considerable upgrade for the Bulls, both immediately and in the future.
