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The Chicago Bulls are still expected to shop both Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine as the trade deadline approaches, per ESPN’s Jamal Collier. However, both players have been available since last season.
As such, the outlook for a potential return remains uncertain.
Citing Collier’s report, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer relayed comments from an anonymous general manager who offered their take on the likely best offers each player could fetch.
“I asked a general manager this week what you would trade for Nikola Vucevic, and he said, ‘A couple of seconds,’” Fischer said during an intel drop on Friday, November 8. “I think there might actually be more of an opportunity for a Vucevic trade at this juncture.”
“Chicago is still expected to explore trade options for both LaVine and Vucevic later in the season, sources told ESPN, but the focus now is for both players to rebound after disappointing 2023-2024 seasons,” Collier wrote on November 7.
Vucevic has averaged 21.2 points and 3.4 assists. Both are steps up from 2023-24, along with 10.1 rebounds through nine games.
He is also shooting a would-be career-high 47.5% from beyond the arc.
“The guy is still out there shooting; a walking bucket with his footwork in the paint. He can’t move defensively. But I just – I think he’s gonna be a cheaper number. He only has one year left after this at $20 million a year,” Fischer said. “So just keep an eye on Nikola Vucevic if he continues to shoot from distance and have his mobility.”
Zach LaVine’s Latest Setback Working Against Bulls’ Rumored Trade Plans
LaVine, whose departure from the Bulls has been an ongoing saga for the past two seasons, faces a far more complicated situation than Vucevic.
His is a combination of high salary and high risk.
“The ultimate trade package for Zach LaVine, could I see the Lakers circling back to him? Certainly possible being that there is a Klutch connection there, that Zach is one of the clients of Rich Paul, and there is always synergy between teams that have players of multiple agencies,” Fischer said.
“Zach LaVine still has three years – including this season – at roughly $150 million with a player option ‘26-’27. That’s going to scare some teams away.”
LaVine has also missed the Bulls’ last three games with a hip injury.
After missing the final 39 games of the 2023-24 season – in which he made 25 total appearances – and his extensive injury history, convincing another team to take on LaVine’s contract could prove a futile endeavor.
Bulls Painted Themselves Into Corner With Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine
The Bulls received criticism for paying both two-time former All-Stars, LaVine and Vucevic, and their current predicament was a key argument for their detractors.
“They gave Nikola Vucevic a three-year, $60 million deal that no one else was going to be giving him,” Fischer said on the “No Cap Room” podcast in July 2023. “That didn’t exactly draw strong praise from people around the NBA.”
LaVine’s five-year, $215.1 million max pact was under a similar microscope if not worse.
“There are expectations with max players — all-or-nothing expectations that far too often are unobtainable. It’s NBA title-or-bust for LaVine as a Bull,” The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley wrote in September 2022. “Max players don’t get excuses. Max players aren’t allowed to be one-and-done in the playoffs. Max players face scrutiny from media and fans on a nightly basis.”
Vucevic’s play may have alleviated concerns rival front offices held about him. But LaVine has done little to change the narrative that has hindered his and the Bulls’ pursuit of a trade.
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