The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of another disappointing season as they currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. We have seen this story before with the Bulls. They have been in this position ahead of the NBA trade deadline in each of the past couple of seasons, but they have been reluctant to get active. Now, with one week until the deadline, rumors surrounding the organization are loud once again, and one player who could be traded is center Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic turned 34 back in October. He is past his prime, and he knows that he doesn’t have a ton of time left before his career is over. He wants to win.
“I’m getting closer to the end of my career,” Vucevic said, according to an article from The Chicago Tribune. “I would like to be somewhere that’s in win-now mode.”
The Bulls don’t seem to be in win-now mode as they haven’t won big in a long time, but they also haven’t been making a lot of big moves that suggest they are building for the future. They’ve been in limbo mode, yet Vucevic remains content with being in Chicago.
“For now, I’m good where I’m at,” Vucevic added. “Obviously the team has to be better. We understand that. But at this point, (leaving Chicago) is not something that I’m thinking about. In a year and a half when I’m a free agent again, we’ll see.”
Vucevic has been at the center of trade rumors all season, but a big slump has come right before the NBA trade deadline. His three-point shooting has dropped off dramatically this January. He is shooting the deep ball at a 26.1% clip. He had been over 40% every other month this season.
“It’s been frustrating,” Vucevic said. “I’m trying not to overthink it too much. That’s normally where I get stuck is thinking too much about it and letting the misses kind of take over everything.”
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Nikola Vucevic right now as the NBA trade deadline looms. In a week, we will know more about what the future holds for him.