Should The Bulls Still Trade Nikola Vucevic?

Nikola Vucevic doesn’t fit the Chicago Bulls’ direction, but he might be the biggest reason they have a winning record.

Chicago shopped him around at last season’s trade deadline, and rumors resurfaced this summer, but no team made a real offer. Now, Vucevic has hit two game-winning 3s in the Bulls’ first 17 games and was the main reason they beat the Wizards.

So the question remains: Should the Bulls still trade him?

Why The Bulls Should Trade Vucevic

Vucevic is 35 years old on a team built for the future. The only other player over 30 is Jevon Carter. Chicago is trying to build around Josh Giddey, Coby White and Matas Buzelis. At 25, White is the oldest of the three.

The front office has made clear it wants to get younger and prioritize upside. Arturas Karnisovas opted to take an upside swing on 18-year-old Noa Essengue rather than drafting more polished players like Derik Queen, showcasing a preference for future production over current.

Chicago has already moved on from Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso. The only players left from the Bulls’ last playoff berth are Vucevic, White, Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu— but the last three were all 21 or younger that season.

Vucevic doesn’t fit the Bulls’ fast pace. He’s most comfortable posting up and playing back-to-the-basket in half-court offense on a team that is second in pace and wants to score in transition.

He’s also a below-average rim protector. Opposing bigs have played him off the floor at times. He has scored fewer than 10 points in four games this season and was benched in the fourth quarter against Detroit because Jalen Smith was a better matchup.

He’s also in the final year of his contract and is likely to leave next season. Moving him now would prevent losing him for nothing. On a roster full of young athletes, he stands out as the clear outlier.