It's crunch time for the Chicago Bulls. The NBA Trade Deadline is scheduled for Feb.5, and nobody knows what's ahead.
In the meantime, veteran center Nikola Vucevic is putting out a call to action to the organization, per Joe Cowely of The Chicago Sun-Times. One thing is for sure, Vucevic doesn't want the Bulls to be in the same cycle.
“I think that there are certain things that this team needs to take the next step, but we’ll see what happens,” Vucevic said. “If nothing happens then it’s on us to try and figure it out and get there. You know it’s not fun when you’re in the same position year after year, and especially when you can’t get out of that play-in, you get stuck behind Miami every time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Since 2022, the Bulls have won 39 games twice and 40 games once. Twice, they were a play-in team. However, they haven't made the playoffs since the 2021-22 season, when they won 46 games.
Altogether, Vucevic knows the type of player the Bulls need.
“Mainly we need some size and athleticism,” Vucevic responded. “We’re pretty undersized at most positions. I think that’s it, that would be the main thing. Because the way the league is right now and a lot of teams have these big wings, I think that’s something that can definitely help us if we add some of that. Just the way the game has changed, the way the game has evolved, most teams their two, three and four are 6-8, 6-9, and we don’t really have that.”
How Nikola Vucevic feels about the newest addition to the Bulls
Over the weekend, the Bulls acquired center Dario Saric from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade.
Much like Vucevic, Saric is from a similar part of the world. Vucevic is from Switzerland, and Saric is from Croatia. Altogether, Vucevic is happy to have him in Chicago as another much-needed big man.
“I know him pretty well,” Vucevic said of Saric. “He’s from the same region. I met him when he came to the NBA, but I watched him when he was younger too, so I know him pretty well. He’s a very good guy, knows how to play. He’s a high-IQ player, experienced, been around the playoffs, been around winning teams, so from that standpoint it will help us a lot and gives us even more size. The injuries have hit the center position so he can help.”
Zach Collins, the backup center, has been out with a lingering toe injury—Vucevic hopes for Saric to fill the void.
“We’ve shown throughout the year that when we’ve played big it’s been pretty good for us,” Vucevic said. “It’s unfortunate that Zach got hurt because I felt like we had a really good thing going, but hopefully with Dario we can get him in, try and use some of that big lineup and see where that goes. I think he can fit in really well with the way we want to play.”
Vucevic, 35, is on an expiring contract and slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He himself has been on the receiving end of trade rumors. Vucevic is averaging 16.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
The Bulls are 24-26.
