Lakers ‘Could Have Interest’ in 4-Time All-Star Center: NBA Cap Expert

Getty Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots over Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Chicago Bulls.

If the Los Angeles Lakers do not want to take back Zach LaVine‘s monster contract, the other former NBA All-Star player on the Chicago Bulls roster could be an alternative trade option, according to Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus.

“The Lakers could have an interest in Nikola Vučević,” Pincus wrote on September 10.

The 33-year-old Montenegrin center has two more seasons left on his three-year, $60 million deal compared to LaVine’s $137 million over the next three seasons.

With Vučević generating zero trade market, along with LaVine, per the Chicago Sun-Times, the Lakers should pounce on the opportunity to add size and shooting to their frontcourt without giving up their two future first-round picks.

The Lakers have the expiring salaries of D’Angelo Russell and either Christian Wood or Cam Reddish to match Vučević’s $20 million this season.

Stretch Big Next to Anthony Davis

While Vučević is not the “bruising” type of big man Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick wanted, the veteran center can space the floor and slide Anthony Davis to his preferred power forward position.

Vučević’s 3-point shooting dipped last season but he recently told Substack’s NBA insider Marc Stein that he’s worked more with former Phoenix Suns assistant coach Nenad Trajković to correct his outside shot.

The Bulls two-time All-Star center shot just 29.4% from deep last season, his lowest since the 2015-16 season.

“I worked on it a lot over the summer, trying to see if there was something as far as my mechanics that I didn’t do well, or what was going on from that standpoint,” Vučević told Stein. “I think there’s some things that I could have done better, so I worked on it, a lot of reps as always. I’m sure at some point last year I was also overthinking shots and so, shots that I would normally make, when you start thinking too much you start missing those as well.”

Vučević attributed last season’s shooting woes to a mix of things and overthinking.

Despite his outside shooting dip, Vučević still averaged 18.0 points per game with 10.5 rebounds.

“Over the summer it went well and hopefully it continues to go well,” Vučević told Stein. “It’s a big thing, obviously, because nowadays as a big man, if you can step out and shoot 3s at a good percentage, it changes everything for you and the team and everybody. So it’s definitely something I want to make sure I improve.”

Vučević shot 40% from deep in his final year in Orlando and 38.8% during his first season with the Bulls in 2020-21.

Nikola Vučević’s Size Helps in Crowded West

Redick made it known he wants a big bruising man next to Davis to slide him to his preferred power forward position.

“You certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster, Redick said in an interview with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on Sirius XM NBA Radio on July 12. “We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.

“You look at the Western Conference right now, whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they’re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you’re going to need a lot of size.”

While Vucevic is more of finesse than a bruiser, the 6-foot-10, 260-lb center has held his own against Nikola Jokic, the measuring yardstick among all NBA big man and the Lakers’ biggest thorn over the last two seasons.

In 13 career games against Vucevic, Jokic averaged just 15.8 points, per Statmuse, which is five points lower than his career average and 11 points below his scoring norm last season.