The Chicago Bulls head into the season with a collection of young talent, but veteran Nikola Vucevic remains on the team.
The Bulls made it clear that they were going to start anew and embrace a younger direction. The Bulls have re-signed Josh Giddey and are committed to other young players like Coby White and Matas Buzelis.
Chicago didn’t re-sign DeMar DeRozan and they traded Zach LaVine at the trade deadline.
The only veteran player who the Bulls didn’t offload is Vucevic, who finds himself on a team that is rebuilding and isn’t expected to make the playoffs next year.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesStacey King says Nikola Vucevic doesn’t play defense, ‘need a guy that’s going to come in and guard Jokic’
As the trade deadline passed the Bulls held onto Vucevic and didn’t end up trading him in the summer either.
Bulls broadcaster Stacey King provided some insight on Stacey King’s Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast and talked about why Vucevic hasn’t been traded yet and how he can become an attractive trade chip during the season.
“It’s the last year of his deal that’s very attractive to teams going to the playoffs next year. I think that’s what the Bulls are counting on, because they couldn’t get what they wanted for him in the summertime.
“They’re not just going to give him away and settle for anything. He can still be part of the package deal.
“He wants to be on a playoff-caliber team. He wants to be on a team that’s going to win. I’m telling you if want to be that player, you have to play that way here, he added.
“Now you have to show teams that you are committed to playing defense, that you’re not just a traffic cone.
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“You’ve got to go rebound, which we know he can do, and you got to be willing to defend, pick and roll, switching, getting back, showing effort defensively, a consistent effort, not like once every week, but every single night.
“You have to show this to make teams interested.
“No one’s going to trade for you if you don’t play defense. Right? That was the whole thing in the conversation this past year about him. Teams are like, well, he didn’t play defense, and we don’t need a guy like that. We need a guy that’s going to come in and guard Jokic, because that’s where everybody is gearing up for, he continued.
“If he can show teams consistently this season that he can defend and he’s giving you effort on the defensive end, he’s going to be ultra attractive, and the Bulls might be able to build something more than a second rounder for him if he plays at the level that he’s capable of, playing like an All-Star caliber level.”
Nikola Vucevic should be a top trade asset for teams looking for a center
As mentioned, Vucevic is on the final year of his deal. If his defense improves, multiple teams will likely have interest in the 34-year-old.
The Golden State Warriors are one team that could trade for Vucevic. Golden State could use some center depth and Vucevic would fit in with other veterans such as Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
Another Western Conference team that could target Vucevic is the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers did pick up DeAndre Ayton, but if that experiment fails, Los Angeles could be on the lookout for another center.
All arrows point to Vucevic being traded before the trade deadline, it’s only a matter of which team will step up to the plate and meet the Bulls’ asking price.