Bulls Star’s Windy City Future in Doubt Amid Extension Chatter: Insider

Getty Nikola Vucevic is defended by Klay Thompson during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls.

Nikola Vucevic has been a polarizing player for the Chicago Bulls since arriving on the scene back in 2021. On the one hand, he’s a beast on the glass, a solid No. 3 option in Billy Donovan’s offense and, until very recently, had been hitting the three at a better rate than he did a year ago.

Without him, the Bulls probably wouldn’t have broken their postseason drought in 2021-22.

On the other hand, he’s never lived up to his All-Star rep since making the move from the Magic Kingdom to the Windy City. Much of his offensive utility is left untapped when he’s not the go-to guy. And his defense has never been good enough to make up for any kind of shortfall on that end.

So, with his contract set to reach its expiration in the summer, fans and pundits alike have questioned whether or not the Bulls should seek to extend the big man’s contract. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the team’s decision-makers are wrestling with those questions, too.

Extension Talks With Vucevic Going Nowhere Fast?

Wojnarowski stopped by the four-letter network’s NBA Countdown program on Friday, an appearance that saw him discussing the pivot position. Specifically, Woj examined centers around the league who could potentially factor into trade deadline chatter or the free-agent frenzy to follow.

Regarding Vucevic, the hoops scribe indicated that there’s nothing doing between the two sides on the extension front.

“I think right now, with Vucevic, those talks on an extension have not really gained any traction,” reported Wojnarowski. “I think this is a Chicago team trying to get a sense of what direction they’re going… and what they want it to look like.”

Should the Bulls come to the conclusion that they want things to look different than they do now, the league insider doesn’t foresee the two-time All-Star having any difficulty attracting suitors this coming offseason.

“Certainly, Nikola Vucevic, if he’s out in free agency, he’ll certainly be a prominent player.”

Entering Chicago’s Sunday bout with the Sacramento Kings, Vucevic is averaging 16.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game with shooting splits of 48-34-85. The Bulls have been outscored by 1.4 points/100 possessions when he has been on the floor, however.

Finding His Fit

In October, an Eastern Conference assistant told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that it would be up to Vucevic to figure out life as a third option. “It’s on Vuc at this point. What we saw is he is just not the same shooter,” the coach said, noting that when the big man isn’t making shots “it makes his defense look that much worse.”

Added the coach: “You can feel a little better about giving him a cushion and letting him shoot the three or letting him have that high mid-range shot.”

There’s one major hang-up with that particular plan, however.

“DeMar [DeRozan] spends so much time there, there isn’t room for them both in the high post. But if you’re Vuc, you have to work around the star, they’re not going to work around you… It’s not the scheme, though. He can still play at a high level but he’s got to make his shots.”

Chicago has until June 30, 2023 to have an extension in place with Vucevic, lest he enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent. The baller is slated to pull down a cool $22 million this season.