Lakers Hold an Edge If 2-Time All-Star Center Becomes Available

The Los Angeles Lakers have an inside track on potentially adding Nikola Vucevic if he agrees to a buyout with the Chicago Bulls before next season.

Vucevic and Luka Dončić share the same agent in Bill Duffy, the head of WME Sports’ basketball division. That connection factored heavily on Deandre Ayton joining the Lakers this offseason after reaching a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Will that work twice for the Lakers?

It depends on a lot of variables.

NBA insider Jake Fischer floated the possibility of Vucevic getting bought out, but with a caveat.

“There hasn’t been much of a market for Nikola Vucevic all along, dating back to last trade deadline,” Fischer said on his “Insider Notebook” livestreamed over at Bleacher Report on July 24. “I think at this juncture, we’re probably more likely to see a Nikola Vucevic buyout midseason than we are to see a trade.”

So, for the Lakers to add Vucevic, first, it has to be before the start of the season since they are already hard-capped at the first apron. Teams on the luxury tax cannot sign a player from the buyout market who had a salary over $12.5 million from his previous contract, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules.

Vucevic is due for $20 million next season, the final year of a three-year, $60 million contract he signed with the Bulls in 2023.

The second variable is whether the 34-year-old Montenegrin center will accept a backup role to the much younger Ayton.

Nikola Vucevic Wants to Join Contender

Getty Nikola Vucevic wants to win at this stage of his NBA career. 

Vučević hinted at potentially parting ways with the Bulls this offseason with his comments during his end-of-the-season press conference.

“There are some good, young pieces that can be built around,” Vučević said. “There are a lot of questions when you’re 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’m at the stage in my career where I’m trying to win now, play in the playoffs and hopefully have 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.”

The two-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season for the Bulls, who have only made the playoffs once over the last eight years.

Lakers Are Luka’s Team Now

The Lakers are pivoting from LeBron James to Doncic.

It was evident in how they are navigating their offseason.

Exhibit A was the viral video of the aftermath of a private meeting between Doncic, his business manager Lara Beth Seager, Lakers president Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick following their first-round exit without James.

Then they did not extend James, who opted into his $52.6 million player option, with a veiled threat in the form of the strong statement from his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.

The most damning evidence was Doncic’s role in the additions of Ayton and Marcus Smart, which multiple reports paint him as the chief recruiter.

The Lakers are now Luka’s team. And if Doncic wants to play with Vucevic, the Lakers will move heaven and earth to satisfy his wishes.