Amid the Chicago Bulls’ full-blown rebuild, trading Nikola Vucevic could be a tall task between now and next season’s trade deadline. After the Bulls traded Zach LaVine in a blockbuster deal with the Sacramento Kings, they subsequently traded veteran Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro. However, trading Vucevic and his $20 million salary isn’t ideal, considering teams are generally trading larger contracts this deep into the offseason.
Vucevic is also 35, which makes finding a suitor all the more difficult, as Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer noted.
“There hasn’t been much of a market for Nikola Vucevic all along, dating back to last trade deadline,” Fischer said. “I think at this juncture, we’re probably more likely to see a Nikola Vucevic buyout midseason than we are to see a trade.”
As the NBA teams transition from the Big 3 era to a modern approach of building a title-contending team, the Bulls have followed suit by trading for a younger big in Okoro and letting DeMar DeRozan walk as a free agent. Chicago also landed 26 and 27-year-old Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins, respectively, in exchange for LaVine and a first-round pick.
The Bulls have received multiple trade offers over the years for Nikola Vucevic. Now that the NBA has transitioned from teams attempting to compile the next superteam to prioritizing youth, depth, and players on team-friendly contracts, Chicago and Vucevic could be heading toward a buyout by midseason.
Bulls coach points to Thunder, Pacers as desired play style
The Bulls point to the champion Thunder as a model for a desired play style, and the same could be said about the front office’s approach to roster building. The Thunder drafted two of their three core players that led their team to a title after trading for a second-year prospect, at the time, in the league’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
One Bulls coach wants to adapt the team’s play style to the free-flowing approach of the Thunder and Pacers, where positionless basketball emphasizes players who can do a variety of things, including shooting, running the floor, and defending at a high level. It’s the model the Bulls will look to adapt, per Spotrac.
“Last year, we played pretty fast. I think we can play even faster next season,” one Bulls coach said. “Our roster is built for it. And you saw with Indiana and OKC in the Finals, that playing with pace is so important. We’re going to get after it on defense, force turnovers, and then get out and run. That suits Matas [Buzelis] and Noa [Essengue].”
The Bulls coach also sees untapped potential in Okoro.
