The Los Angeles Lakers’ center rotation is still thin despite the addition of former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton this offseason.
Jaxson Hayes is back as the backup center, but the Lakers are just one Ayton injury away from returning to the small-ball lineup that fizzled out in the first round of the last NBA playoffs.
With this in mind, the Lakers have been monitoring the buyout market for another big man.
According to ClutchPoint’s Anthony Irwin, the Chicago Bulls‘ two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic is on their radar.
“This does leave a few interesting free agents still, not even including eventual buyout candidates like Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic,” Irwin wrote. “As they did with Smart, the Lakers are closely monitoring that situation.”
Getty (L-R) Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers and Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls interact before the game at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers have an inside track on the Montenegrin center if he can reach a buyout with the Bulls.
Vucevic and the Lakers’ newly-extended franchise star Luka Dončić share the same agent in Bill Duffy, the head of WME Sports’ basketball division. That connection factored heavily on Ayton joining the Lakers this offseason after reaching a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Buyout Market Restrictions for Lakers
NBA insider Jake Fischer floated the possibility of a Vucevic buyout, but with a caveat.
“There hasn’t been much of a market for Nikola Vucevic all along, dating back to last trade deadline,” Fischer said on his “Insider Notebook” livestreamed over at Bleacher Report on July 24. “I think at this juncture, we’re probably more likely to see a Nikola Vucevic buyout midseason than we are to see a trade.”
But for the Lakers to add Vucevic, it has to be made before the season since they are already hard-capped at the first apron following Marcus Smart‘s signing. Teams on the luxury tax cannot sign a player from the buyout market who had a salary over $12.5 million from his previous contract, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules.
Vucevic is due for $20 million next season, the final year of a three-year, $60 million contract he signed with the Bulls in 2023.
Then, the Lakers, too, have to dump salaries since they are also just $1.1 million below the second apron. They do not have enough cap room to even sign Vucevic for the veteran minimum if he enters the buyout market this offseason.
Nikola Vucevic Wants to Win Now
Vucevic hinted at potentially parting ways with the Bulls this offseason with his comments during his end-of-the-season press conference.
“There are some good, young pieces that can be built around,” Vucevic said. “There are a lot of questions when you’re a team not fighting for the top. I have trust in them and believe they want to do what’s best and build a good team that wants to win.
“So we’ll see. Obviously, I’m at the stage in my career where I’m trying to win now, play in the playoffs and hopefully have deep playoff runs. It’s a young team and it does take time. It all depends on what their timeline is and how they see this team.”
Teaming up with Doncic and LeBron James can give the 34-year-old Vucevic his best chance to win next season.
The two-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season for the Bulls, who have only made the playoffs once over the last eight years.
Lakers ‘Monitoring’ Former All-Star Big as Deandre Ayton Backup