Nikola Vucevic has been a bit of a throwback.
In the mind of the Bulls big, you sign a contract, you honor the deal. That’s what the player controls in his opinion.
Whether or not the organization sees the years through or is busy on the phone exploring trades is above Vucevic’s pay grade.
In that way, the 2024-25 campaign was beyond impressive for Vucevic. The veteran watched the team’s key pieces from the 2021-22 reload systematically receive change-of-address notices and didn’t flinch. He didn’t love it and thought he might be next, but he didn’t flinch.
Instead, he embraced the role of mentor and leader, actually putting together his best full season as a Bull, averaging 18.5 points and shooting 40.2% from three-point range.
And now he waits.
Vucevic, who is going into the final year of his contract, will be turning 35 early into the regular season and is again a trade candidate this summer or by the February trade deadline. For the first time, he actually might be welcoming a change of scenery. At least one with a better postseason view.
“There are some good young pieces that can be built around,” Vucevic said in his exit interview last month. “A lot of questions when you are a team not fighting for the top. I have trust in them and believe they want to do what’s best and build a good team that wants to win, so we’ll see. Obviously, I am at the stage in my career where I am trying to win now, play in the playoffs and hopefully deep playoff runs. It’s a young team and it does take time. It all depends on what their timeline is and how they see this team.”
That’s fair considering, at least on paper, the Bulls’ roster could look very similar to the same one that went 39-43, before bowing out for the third consecutive season to the Heat in the play-in tournament. There’s just not a high enough ceiling to scream “deep playoff run.”
The good news for Vucevic is he might not be sticking around to find out.
Center breakdown
What the Bulls have:
Vucevic, Zach Collins, Jalen Smith
Who could be on the move:
Vucevic headlines this category, as executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has been aggressive in moving veterans since last summer. Like Vucevic, Collins is also in the final year of a deal next season, and expiring contracts are once again currency throughout the league.
Smith is more of a stretch-4, but before Collins was acquired, Smith was a very capable backup to Vucevic. It helps that he is signed through the 2026-27 season on a very team-friendly deal.
The draft:
Before the lottery jumbles things up, the Bulls sit at No. 12, spending the season disregarding a ’25 draft class that is loaded at the top. There are two true NBA centers who can help the Bulls, but unfortunately they both will be gone by No. 12 unless the Bulls get lucky and move up.
The best fit would be Duke’s 7-2 up-and-comer Khaman Maluach, who would instantly change the shot-blocking issues for coach Billy Donovan. Maluach needs work on the offensive end but started to shine in that department the last month of the season. The other big is Maryland’s Derik Queen, who is further along on the offensive end but not the shot blocker Maluach is.
Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber and Euro Joan Beringer would be reaches.
Free agency:
There are some interesting bigs hitting free agency this summer, including Myles Turner, Brook Lopez and Clint Capela, among others, but the Bulls aren’t in the free-agent market because of the current salary cap. If there is a change in the middle for them, it would have to be done through a trade.
Wild-card prediction:
Karnisovas adds to the frontcourt in the draft and does so by selecting a Daniel Gafford-type rim-runner/shot-blocker in Beringer. He then does all he can to make a big swing by using Vucevic in a package to try to land Zion Williamson.
