More teams should be paying close attention to Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic.
As the veteran big man is in the midst of his contract year with the Bulls, he could quietly become a trade candidate, depending on how the Bulls fare over the next few weeks. In the meantime, Vucevic is loudly hitting milestones in Chicago, moving up the franchise’s leaderboard.
On Wednesday night, Vucevic reached a historic feat against the Utah Jazz. With a 35-point showing, Vucevic passed Artis Gilmore for having the most 35-point games ever as a Bulls center. He did it by shooting 14-22 from the field and going 5-6 from the charity stripe.
Along with his scoring, Vucevic came down with 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and blocked 2 shots. He helped the Bulls secure a tight 128-126 victory over Utah.
Should the Bulls Shop Vucevic?
Will Chicago keep Vucevic around long-term? If their front office answers “no,” then they should be looking to sell high on the veteran center, who carries versatility on the offensive end.
In 39 games this season, Vucevic has averaged 16.9 points per game. He’s making 50 percent of his shots from the field, while hitting on 37.8 percent of his three-pointers.
Vucevic is nearly averaging a double-double, coming down with 9.2 rebounds per game.
The Bulls are 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 19-21 record. They totally cooled off after a red-hot start to the season. With Chicago being 4-6 over their last 10 games, they still don’t seem to be trending in the right direction.
While Chicago would have a shot at the Play-In in the spring, they are far from a lock to land in postseason play. Rumors have suggested that Vucevic isn’t gaining much traction as a target, and the Bulls have even had their eyes on some questionable win-now moves.
However, Vucevic has been intriguing enough to keep an eye on.
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