Two-time All-Star Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic addressed his future during the Bulls' media day on Monday.
The 34-year-old is currently on a very movable expiring $21.5 million deal.
As a sharpshooting big man who has remained shockingly durable and is a solid passer and rebounder, he could theoretically hold some appeal to teams seeking optionality at the center position.
What will become of Nikola Vucevic?
Vucevic is also eligible for a veteran contract extension at any point until the start of the 2026-27 season next summer, although it seems that Chicago is prioritizing youth and development over old guys.
So could his 15th NBA season potentially be his last?
Per CHGO Bulls, Vucevic isn't exactly planning on it.
"Retirement is not on my mind," Vucevic said in his press conference.
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Last year, the 6-foot-10 USC product suited up for 73 games, averaging 18.5 points on .530/.402/.805 shooting splits, 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks a night for the 39-43 Bulls.
As the team has for the past three seasons straight, Chicago made the play-in tournament and got ousted before it could advance to the playoffs proper.
Vucevic wasn't the problem, per se, but he's also likely not the solution to the Bulls' woes. He's fairly slow, and lacks the kind of vertical hops necessary to guard the rim.
It's tough to be an offense-only center in the modern NBA, unless you're literally three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. In fairness, Jokic is a better man-to-man defender than Vucevic.
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For now, Vucevic is heading into his sixth year in Chicago (he was traded from the Orlando Magic at the 2020-21 deadline).
The Bulls' outlook is usually fairly middling, but this year Chicago could accidentally screw itself out of a primo lottery pick by being good enough to actually make the playoffs proper in a weakened Eastern Conference.
Three East All-Stars — Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and then-Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard — tore their Achilles tendons in last spring's playoffs, and all are now likely out for most or possibly all of the year. Haliburton has already been ruled out by Indiana, and Lillard said in his own media day press conference that he expects to sit all season.
Granted, Lillard was waived and is now rehabbing with the Portland Trail Blazers, but his injury still compelled Milwaukee to make drastic moves, like waiving Lillard and eating $22.5 million of his remaining salary for the next five seasons without an All-Star-level replacement next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks may still be better than the Bulls, but there's no guarantee that the Celtics and Pacers will be anymore, now both missing their best players. Chicago, even without getting appreciably better over the summer (the team flipped Lonzo Ball for the more-available Isaac Okoro and drafted two projects in Noa Essengue and Lachlan Olbrich), could have a fighting chance at a top-six seed.
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