With last night's miss for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft Lottery, the Nikola Vucevic trade is finally complete. The Bulls traded Wendell Carter Jr., their 2021 first-round pick, which became Franz Wagner, and the 11th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
When the Bulls made the trade for Vucevic, Bulls fans were hoping they were getting the All-Star center he was in Orlando. For 2.5 years Vucevic provided slightly better averages of 18.2 ppg and 11.1 rpg. His lack of defensive ability made it difficult for him to hit the top-tier center level to guys like Joel Embiid and Evan Mobley. Vucevic was at least that next tier. It was a step in the right direction to get a quality big man to pair with LaVine
Now what the Bulls gave up for him blossomed into a hefty bounty. Wendell Carter Jr. was corrupted by former Bulls coach Jim Boylen. Most of the players from that era just never really evolved. Carter Jr. wasn't going anywhere in the direction of a high-end center. Once he landed in Orlando and got some coaching Carter Jr. became very respectable at the position and became something no one expected. For the 2.5 years with the Magic, he has tallied 14.6 ppg and 9.5 rpg a big shift from his 10.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg with the Bulls.
Franz Wagner was what the Magic used for the Bulls' 2021 first-rounder that was the 8th overall pick. Wagner’s impact at SF was immediate playing in 79 games in his rookie year. This past season he recorded 18.6 ppg, 4.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG. This is an impressive impact for a young player on a young roster. Pairing him alone with Carter Jr. in the Vucevic trade would give Magic the win on this transaction, especially looking at their averages.
This year's 11th overall was included. That should have been the deal breaker for Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas. One first-round pick was enough. A second first-rounder was overkill.
In mock drafts, the 11th pick could return a player like Gradey Dick who is one of the top shooters in the draft class. That is a huge need for the Bulls right now and it will be painful to watch that opportunity pass the Bulls by on draft night.
The Bulls got what they asked for in Vucevic but gave up way too much for him. Even with Carter over achieving expectations at the time of the trade, Karnisovas harboring multiple first-round draft picks has hurt and will continue to hurt the Bulls’ future for many years to come.
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