Bulls rumors: Will Chicago actually re-sign Nikola Vucevic instead of trading him?

The Chicago Bulls are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, and as a result, could be major sellers as the NBA trade deadline approaches. Whether the team sells on Nikola Vucevic, however, remains a big question.

According to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, the team isn’t particularly eager to ship out the 35-year-old big man despite the return they could get for him.

“Chicago has some options before the trade deadline because of all the expiring money they possess,” Siegel wrote. “Speaking of which, Nikola Vucevic, who is on an expiring $21.4 million contract, is a player that Billy Donovan and the organization value. It wouldn’t be surprising if they held onto Vuc and looked to extend the veteran on a smaller, team-friendly contract in free agency.”

This season, Vucevic is averaging 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game. Those marks are each the lowest for Vucevic since at least the 2017-18 season, but he remains the Bulls’ third-leading scorer (behind Josh Giddey and Coby White) and the team’s top rebounder. Additionally, he is shooting 50.2% from the field and 38.6% on 4.8 3-pointers per game.

Vucevic’s floor-stretching ability has been and still is one of the most attractive parts of his game; at 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, he is a career 35.1% 3-point shooter, with occasional years (2020-21 and 2024-25) of 40-plus-percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Since being acquired by Chicago during the 2020-21 season, Vucevic has been asked to do less offensively. A 25-point-per-game scorer in his final half-season with the Orlando Magic, Vucevic has not averaged more than 18.5 points per game in a full season with the Bulls. Instead, he has taken a backseat to the likes of Giddey, White, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan.

Although it would make quite a bit of sense to trade Vucevic before the Feb. 5 deadline, the Bulls have proven hesitant over the years to extract value out of expiring contracts or aging players. In Vucevic’s case, he is both, considering he will turn 36 in October and will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He had previously signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bulls in 2023 upon the expiration of the four-year, $100 million deal he had signed with the Magic.

The post Bulls rumors: Will Chicago actually re-sign Nikola Vucevic instead of trading him? appeared first on ClutchPoints.