The media caught up to Vucevic during his attendance at Goran Dragic's farewell game in Slovenia.
“Since Lonzo Ball's injury, we haven't been able to achieve the results we could have. It disrupted us a lot,” Vucevic said during his interview with Eurohoops. “When he played, we were at the top of the East for a while, which maybe wasn't a realistic result, even though we were playing well, but with him, we would have fought for anything between third and sixth place in the end.”
What's next for the Bulls?
Vucevic added more insights on what Ball meant to the team.
“The rest of us focus more on scoring: LaVine, DeRozan, and me. He brought us all together, sped up the game, meant a lot on defense, guarding the best players with Caruso… Although his numbers might not have been impressive, he meant a lot to us. We tried with young players, and then we had numerous injuries,” the 33-year-old center continued.
Moreover, Vucevic had something to say about the team's recent commitment to a slight rebuild.
“Trade talks also affected us, preventing us from achieving the results we thought we could, but when results don't follow, changes come… DeRozan left, Caruso left, the team got younger, and they wanted to go in a different direction. We'll see how the season goes, and then decisions will be made based on that,” he said.
The Bulls dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade this offseason. Meanwhile, Zach LaVine remains on the trading block after he played only 25 games last season due to injury. One of the league's best guard defenders, Alex Caruso, also went to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade for Josh Giddey.
Nikola Vucevic was right to wax nostalgic for Lonzo Ball. After all, with him at the helm, the Bulls had a record of 27-13 two seasons ago, the best in the Eastern conference. The Bulls also have an all-time record of 22-13 with Ball. In his last healthy season, he also averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, shooting a career-high 42.3% from three.
Can Lonzo still play?
While Ball didn't post eye-popping numbers, his two-way versatility and playmaking ability were invaluable assets to the Bulls who had several capable scorers but who specialized in one-on-one shotmaking. His defensive pairing with Caruso also posed problems to other teams.
Still, Lonzo Ball picked up his $21.4-million player option for 2024-2025, indicating his desire to return to the team after rehab. However, no one knows how he will play after injury, and if his tandem with the ascending Coby White translate to wins.
