Centers are one of the main positions teams go after at the NBA trade deadline each year, and Nikola Vucevic is a name we have often seen in trade rumors in the past few years.
The rumors haven't amounted to anything during his time with the Bulls, but that might finally change in the coming weeks for one key reason.
Why might the Bulls finally trade Nikola Vucevic?
NBA insider Jake Fischer detailed in his latest NBA news update that this might be the year Vucevic gets real attention from opposing teams at the deadline.
In years past, Vucevic was still valuable and a desirable player in the market, but was on a multi-year contract, which wasn't exactly appealing to other teams because of his age and the amount of money he was owed.
He's making a little over $20 million as of now, which isn't bad for a player of his skill set, but the best part for teams looking to add him now is that this season is the final year of his contract.
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It's much less of a risk to add Vucevic since he's on an expiring contract, which also means teams probably wouldn't need to give up much of a haul to get him.
The Bulls got off to a hot start this season but have cooled down significantly since, currently sitting just inside the play-in tournament positioning.
It would make sense for them to look ahead by trading away Vucevic now so they at least get something in return, since they don't appear to be a win-now team at the moment.
They do have promising players to build around, so their win-now window might not be too far away, which makes planning ahead all the more important as the deadline approaches.
They weren't too hesitant to trade away Zach LaVine last year, so it wouldn't be a shock to see Vucevic traded away, given the contract he has and the interest he'll probably get from teams in the coming weeks.
In 38 games this season, Vucevic is averaging 16.4 points and 9.3 rebounds.
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