Bulls Receive Disappointing Nikola Vucevic Update: Report

The Chicago Bulls have been relatively quiet this offseason. While they have made a couple of moves, there hasn’t been a lot of movement.

Obviously, the biggest move of the offseason was the Bulls’ trade that sent guard Lonzo Ball packing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, Chicago received Isaac Okoro back from the Cavaliers.

Another move the Bulls made was to re-sign guard Tre Jones to a three-year, $24 million contract early on in NBA free agency.

Nikola Vucevic has been a name actively talked about in the NBA rumor mill. He has been viewed as a potential trade candidate over the last couple of years.

Read more: 76ers’ Free Agent Quentin Grimes Linked to Western Conference Team

Unfortunately, Chicago has had a tough time moving him for the value the team would like to get for him. That situation has received a major update.

NBA insider Jake Fischer weighed in on the Bulls and Vucevic during a Bleacher Report stream. His update is not good news for Chicago’s hopes of finding trade value for the veteran center.

“There hasn’t been much of a market for Nikola Vucevic dating back to the last trade deadline,” Fischer said. “I think at this juncture, we’re probably more likely to see a Nikola Vucevic buyout midseason than we are to see a trade.”

At 34 years old, Vucevic is seeing his career wind down. He has still been very productive from a numbers perspective, but teams around the league simply don’t see him as a great fit or at least aren’t willing to offer good value for him.

Entering the 2025-26 NBA season, Vucevic will be heading into the final year of his contract with the Bulls.

Read more: Los Angeles Lakers Exec Makes Strong Statement About LeBron James

During the 2024-25 campaign in Chicago, Vucevic played in 73 games and made 72 starts. He averaged 18.5 points per game to go along with 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Vucevic also shot 53 percent from the floor and connected on 40.2 percent of his three-point attempts.

Being unable to extract any trade value out of the veteran center would be disappointing. Having to buy him out and letting a contender sign him for nothing would be a tough pill to swallow.

That seems to be the likely direction the Bulls will have to take unless something changes in the near future.

For more on the Chicago Bulls and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.