Nikola Vucevic expects to get to his age-37 season before deciding what is next in life. That gives him four more years before crossing that bridge. Two of those are slated to be spent with the Chicago Bulls. They open training camp at the end of the month.
Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million contract ahead of free agency in 2023. But his name has still come up in trade rumors thanks in large part to the team’s lack of success.
Vucevic expects the Bulls to be competitive in 2024-25 but is ready for anything.
That includes the rumors that the Bulls could continue leaning into their youth movement. That would mean Vucevic – and fellow two-time All-Star Zach LaVine – gets traded before the deadline in February 2025.
“I’m used to it at this point,” Vucevic told The Stein Line’s Marc Stein in an interview published on September 5. Since I’ve been with the Bulls, I’ve been in a lot of trade stories, especially last summer as well throughout last season. So it’s just part of it. Like I said before, if things were going well and we’re winning and everything was great, that wouldn’t be the case. But because things weren’t going that well, we weren’t winning and we weren’t achieving our goals, then obviously change is bound to happen.
“I know it’s a pretty basic answer, but you don’t have much control over it, so you kind of just wait and see. If they decide to change and trade me, it’s on them to do. Just like a year and a half ago I was a free agent and I could have chosen to go elsewhere. It’s just the way this business works and so now we’ll see. Maybe we’ll play well and everything is great. It’s kind of a wait-and-see game.”
The Bulls were criticized for re-signing Vucevic to such a lucrative contract. The market was unlikely to bear a similar deal, especially given his recent play and long-standing deficiencies.
He was also coming off a poor shooting season and is not a strong defender.
Vucevic hinted at entertaining other options during an interview on “The Sixth Man Show” in January 2023. He told Stein that he “chose” to stay and believes the 2024-25 Bulls “can play better than people think.”
Bulls C Nikola Vucevic Looking to Improve 3-Pt Efficiency
Vucevic also said he took steps to address his poor three-point shooting. He shot 29.4% from beyond the arc in 2023-24.
That is his lowest mark since he began attempting at least 1.0 threes per game in 2016-17.
“I worked on it a lot over the summer, trying to see if there was something as far as my mechanics that I didn’t do well, or what was going on from that standpoint. I think there’s some things that I could have done better, so I worked on it, a lot of reps as always. I’m sure at some point last year I was also overthinking shots and so, shots that I would normally make, when you start thinking too much you start missing those as well,” Vucevic told Stein.
“Over the summer it went well and hopefully it continues to go well. It’s a big thing, obviously, because nowadays as a big man, if you can step out and shoot 3s at a good percentage, it changes everything for you and the team and everybody. So it’s definitely something I want to make sure I improve.”
Vucevic is a career 34.1% shooter and his 34.9% mark in 2022-23 is the fourth-highest of his career.
The Bulls big man said he is working with former Phoenix Suns assistant coach Nenad Trajkovic, his long-time trainer. He aimed for slight tweaks to his shot. The goal is to find a consistent formula between his footwork, follow-through, and more.
Bulls Questioned Over $2 Million ‘Head-Scratcher’
The criticism over Vucevic’s contract fits a theme for the Bulls under executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas. That theme has continued in the 2024 offseason with the Bulls’ latest signing.
They signed former Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz forward Talen Horton-Tucker.
A Chicago native, Horton-Tucker signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract. He averaged at least 10.0 points for the third straight season in 2023-24. He added 3.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds.
“Another Chicago HS star will compete for a spot on the Bulls roster,” “Gimme The Hot Sauce” host Mark Schanowski posted on X on September 4. “Kind of a head-scratcher with so many guards & small forwards already on the team. Should be a very competitive training camp for a Bulls team in transition.”
Horton-Tucker is the fifth Chicagoan on the Bulls’ pre-camp roster.
He is also the team’s fifth Klutch Sports Group client. He joins incumbents LaVine, Lonzo Ball, and fellow 2024 offseason signings Jalen Smith and Kenneth Lofton Jr.
