Nikola Vucevic may just find himself a new team before the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Chicago Bulls center, who is averaging 16.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists this season, is entering the final year of his contract with the franchise.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the Bulls and Vucevic haven’t reportedly spoken about the latter’s future with Chicago.
There are no ongoing contract extension conversations between the Bulls and Nikola Vucevic, sources told Yahoo Sports. Chicago never truly had significant negotiations to restructure its starting center’s deal. Whether that points to greater trade activity with the Bulls, of course, remains to be seen. Chicago officials have told inquiring teams they believe they can make the playoffs when healthy.
For now, there are teams keen on acquiring Vucevic’s services. The Los Angeles Lakers are frontrunners to add the Montenegro big man to their roster along with DeMar DeRozan.
The Los Angeles Lakers Are Interested In Trading For Nikola Vucevic
It’s not been the greatest of seasons for the Bulls, as they sit 11-16 in the East. Their 11th-place standing, further compounded by Lonzo Ball’s injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season, forces them to head into a rebuild.
Vucevic and DeRozan have been linked to the Lakers ever since Bill Simmons claimed that trading Chicago’s big stars and heading into a rebuild would “save” the franchise. This was followed by reports of Los Angeles reportedly in talks with the Bulls’ front office. Per Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus:
According to NBA sources, the Lakers are interested in both Vučević and DeRozan. If L.A. is willing to give up two first-round picks (2027 and 2029) along with Russell Westbrook as a buy-out candidate, the Bulls may end up in a better lottery position to retain their pick in June. This is the draft to do it.
At the time of writing, there are no concrete developments. The Lakers are reportedly reluctant to trade Russell Westbrook after his resurgence as their sixth man, but this may change should Chicago be ready to ship two of their core players. Only time will tell if Vucevic becomes a Laker.
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