3:12pm: The Bulls have issued a press release officially announcing Vucevic’s extension.
“During his time in Chicago, Nikola has proven that he is a special player both on and off the court,” executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said in a statement. “He has produced at an elite level since we acquired him and will remain an integral part of our foundation moving forward. Nikola’s willingness to do whatever is asked of him to help us win, while also being an established veteran leader for our group, makes him a valuable component of the culture of our organization. He is a consummate professional and tremendous teammate, which plays a big role in making us an attractive destination for other players. We are excited to have him continue to be part of our journey.”
2:42pm: The Bulls and Nikola Vucevic are nearing an agreement on a three-year, $60MM contract extension that would keep the veteran center off the free agent market, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Vucevic, 32, was acquired by the Bulls at the 2021 trade deadline in a deal with Orlando. Since arriving in Chicago, he has averaged 18.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game with a .492/.342/.812 shooting line in 181 total regular season appearances (33.2 MPG).
Vucevic isn’t an elite defender, but he’s a talented scorer and rebounder who has been remarkably consistent during his first two full seasons with the Bulls — he averaged 17.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 3.2 APG in both 2021/22 and ’22/23.
Like fellow big man Naz Reid, Vucevic had been extension-eligible this season, so he didn’t have to wait to reach the open market this weekend if his goal was to re-up with his current team.
The Bulls were considered a good bet to reach a new deal with Vucevic before or during free agency for multiple reasons. For one, their guaranteed contracts and the cap holds for restricted free agents Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu would almost certainly make them an over-the-cap team with or without Vucevic on the books, so they wouldn’t have had a clear path to replace him at the same salary slot if they’d let him walk.
There has also been a sense, as Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote today, that Chicago didn’t love the idea of letting Vucevic go after paying such a steep price to acquire him from the Magic two years ago. That trade netted Orlando a pair of lottery picks – Franz Wagner and Jett Howard – in addition to young center Wendell Carter.
Assuming they officially finalize an extension with Vucevic by the June 30 deadline, the Bulls can shift their focus to free agency, where they’re expected to re-sign guards White and Dosunmu, according to Fischer. A new deal for unrestricted free agent Patrick Beverley is also a possibility, Fischer adds.
The Bulls project to be about $27MM below the luxury tax line after signing Vucevic, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, though that estimate could vary depending on the exact structure of Vucevic’s extension, as well as Andre Drummond‘s player option decision. Once he officially signs, Vucevic will become ineligible to be traded for six months.
Meanwhile, an already-thin group of free agent centers will take another hit with both Vucevic and Reid off the market. Jakob Poeltl and Brook Lopez are the headliners at the position, with veterans like Mason Plumlee and Dwight Powell among the solid second-tier targets for teams in need of size. However, there aren’t a lot of reliable veterans available beyond those top few guys.
Oh man, I can already hear Bulls fans screaming.
Justifiably.
Eh, 20M aint a whole lot for a guy with his skillset, it will be a very movable contract down the road.
It does seem something like 45M for three years would be a little more reasonable though
It’s not a bad contract, but I’m pretty sure most Bulls fans realize that they aren’t winning much with this roster. Not without a healthy Lonzo which… may never happen again (I hate that). And while Vuc is still good now, he’ll be 33 when the season starts and only getting older.
He’s popular and well-liked in the city though.
Play-in is as best as it will get for the Bulls this season.
Think this is par, ida preferred a 2+1 team option with maybe 22.5 AAV instead of 20 but Vu is savvy picking up that guaranteed 3rd year.
Vu had a smidge of leverage on Chi too so that probably played a part getting that 3rd year
Big Bulls fan- glad my main man Vuc is sticking around.
Someone has to play center for the Bulls. Vucevic is a good player. The Bulls were up by 3 points inside 3 minutes in the play in game with the Heat. Obviously, the Bulls didn’t finish the game well. The Bulls don’t have much flexible. So have no choice but to try to improve from within.
Vuc and Alex for Paul
If your goal is to get Chicago into the lottery that might work.
The Bulls made good moves and the Ball injury killed them. Bring back Pat Bev and look into some other guard options (thought Rondo or Wall would have been a good option last year
Lonzo at his peak doesn’t transform this roster to a contender but I see your point
Hard to contend and eat a 20M contract.
Lonzo probably hadn’t peaked yet though… Doesn’t even turn 26 til next year
they were the top seed in the east before he went down
Good signing, unless they plan to tank.
CHI has problems. Vucevic isn’t one of them. Inside/outside, face-up/post, scorer and facilitator, good rebounder, and above-average defender. Reasons not to sign him: 1) he is not a rim protector, and with the Matador Twins, CHI could use one; 2) he plays the one position where players don’t have pricing power; 3) he can be too passive on the offensive end considering his skills; and 4) he’s 33. In the end though, I couldn’t see just walking away.
Lol
Pretty fair contract for chicago. He will become trade elgible around january 1. If the bulls are still around .500 or below at that point id look into sending him and derozan to the clipps for zubac and expirings to kick of the rebuild. If they could somehow get back mann, preston and boston, even better
I don’t know why BULLS fans are complaining …… this is a great value contract.
It doesn’t move them any closer to a playoff spot, but to get that decent production at that price point – it’s a small win for the front office.
Time to trade LaVine.
Its not me. I like this. 20m for mr double double, top 5 rebounder,not great but good enough 3pt shooter, can stay healthy. Its cheap.
Who were they competing against for him? Could’ve driven the price down even further