This offseason could be one of change for the Chicago Bulls, who might require a new starting center with the future of veteran Nikola Vucevic up in the air.
A free agent this summer, Vucevic spoke to reporters on Saturday, revealing that the Bulls hold “priority,” but he intends to test the free-agent market.
“I’ll see what else is out there and test the market,” Vucevic said, via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “But I’ve been here for 2 1/2 years now. I like my time here and built good relationships with my teammates, coaches, front office, people in the organization and around the city. So a lot of positives here. But we’ll see what their plan is and what they decide to do.”
While Vucevic waits to see where he might fit in the Bulls’ offseason plans, the team’s executive vice president, Arturas Karnisovas, sounded optimistic about bringing the former first-round pick.
“Vooch has been awesome for us, available for all 82 games,” Karnisovas said, via K.C Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He’s a double-double machine. So he’s a huge part of this team. We hope to re-sign him.”
The Bulls acquired Vucevic in a 2021 trade with the Orlando Magic in exchange for Wendall Carter Jr., Otto Porter and two first-round picks.
Over three seasons with Chicago, Vucevic has played 181 games, averaging 18.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. In 2022-23, Vucevic suited up for all 82 games, posting 17.6 points and 11 boards per game during the regular season.
The Bulls will have a few tough decisions to make this offseason. Along with the uncertain status of Lonzo Ball, Chicago must also attend to restricted free agents Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. However, with no first-round pick in this year’s draft and little cap space for 2023-24, the Bulls may have no choice but to run it back with Vucevic in tow.
