Nikola Vucevic and the Chicago Bulls are in the midst of another disappointing season in the NBA's competitive Eastern Conference, and wholesale changes could be coming for the 11-16 squad.
Vucevic is in the final year of his four year, $100 million contract, and he will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. With the Bulls' seemingly at the precipice of embracing a full-scale rebuild, we could be seeing the last of the Montenegrin superstar in Chicago colors.
There have been no ongoing contract extension conversations between the Bulls and Vucevic, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, although Chicago officials have told inquiring teams they believe they are good enough to make the playoffs when healthy.
That doesn't seem to be the case for the 2022-23 iteration of the Bulls, and with Lonzo Ball not making much progress in his return from knee surgery, there doesn't seem to be much hope that this team can make the playoffs in its current form.
Chicago has been linked to the San Antonio Spurs' Jakob Poeltl since last year's deadline, and the Bulls are being closely monitored as a potential seller this season. The NBA's annual trade window unofficially opened on Thursday, and the majority of free agents who signed new contracts over the summer are now eligible to be moved to new teams.
NBA Insider Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report already mentioned the Bulls could be in for a major overhaul sooner rather than later, opening the door to trades for all of their stars, including Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
The Lakers' have reportedly been keeping a close eye on the Bulls' developments, with rumors of flipping Russell Westbrook for Vucevic and DeRozan gaining steam if Chicago “does ultimately pivot from its postseason aspirations,” per Fischer.
Only time will tell what moves the Bulls' end up making ahead of next year's Feb. 9 trade deadline, but the days of Vucevic, DeRozan and LaVine in the red, white and black could be numbered.
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