Vucevic Trade Watch 2025

[dougthonus]

Ultimately, there's really no sense in trading Vuc anymore than trading Huerter or Collins or anyone else. He's now just a big expiring salary, and the roster isn't likely to go anywhere from a performance perspective either way. If you can get a 2nd rounder for any one of those guys you should do it, but there's no reason to think Vuc is more likely to get you one than the other two.

[pipfan]

My simple deal of Vuc for Nurkic/#33 is to free up shots for others, improve our defense, save a bit of $ and help a team MAYBE finish above us (Char). Char should try to start winning, now that they have young talent and their pick debt is extinguished.

Nurkic would play a bit as a 3rd center and is another big expiring

[dougthonus]

My simple deal of Vuc for Nurkic/#33 is to free up shots for others, improve our defense, save a bit of $ and help a team MAYBE finish above us (Char). Char should try to start winning, now that they have young talent and their pick debt is extinguished.

Nurkic would play a bit as a 3rd center and is another big expiring

I don't know why Charlotte would think Vuc is meaningfully better than Nurkic, but I'd sure take this deal if it were on the table.

[sco]

Am I misremembering -- did we pass on a trade with the Warriors for 2nd round picks? Or am I just confusing it with the Drummond/Sixers trade we didn't do?

I think it is less definitive, but there were rumors that we were hung up on compensation, then the Warriors got Jimmy Butler instead and no longer could do our deal. From a practical sense, it feels more likely to me that our deal was more of a backup given that if they were negotiating on Butler it feels unlikely they'd have a firm offer for us that would sink that deal.

Vuc also started coming back down to earth with his 3P shooting. Bulls needed to trade him ASAP at the hot start, but in Bulls fashion we wait until assets depreciate.

GS was reported to be seriously interested when Vuc was shooting 48% from 3...

Read on Twitter

I don't think GS has the salary to make the deal work now. They'd need to include Moody, Santos and TJD to make the $ work, and that's not happening.

[dougthonus]

Am I misremembering -- did we pass on a trade with the Warriors for 2nd round picks? Or am I just confusing it with the Drummond/Sixers trade we didn't do?

I think it is less definitive, but there were rumors that we were hung up on compensation, then the Warriors got Jimmy Butler instead and no longer could do our deal. From a practical sense, it feels more likely to me that our deal was more of a backup given that if they were negotiating on Butler it feels unlikely they'd have a firm offer for us that would sink that deal.

Vuc also started coming back down to earth with his 3P shooting. Bulls needed to trade him ASAP at the hot start, but in Bulls fashion we wait until assets depreciate.

GS was reported to be seriously interested when Vuc was shooting 48% from 3...

Read on Twitter

I hate to say anything that even remotely sounds like it defends AK, but...

I think it is super unlikely that the Bulls could have made this trade in December. I'm sure GS was doing due diligence, but they clearly were looking at bigger fish as well (as evidenced by actual results of their trades) and likely weren't going to commit to this trade at that time without knowing what was on the table later. I think this was a backup option for them to explore, not something they were ever at the point of pulling the trigger on.

[League Circles]

Ultimately, there's really no sense in trading Vuc anymore than trading Huerter or Collins or anyone else. He's now just a big expiring salary, and the roster isn't likely to go anywhere from a performance perspective either way. If you can get a 2nd rounder for any one of those guys you should do it, but there's no reason to think Vuc is more likely to get you one than the other two.

Yep, the only real reason to trade Vuc now is if it's in a deal that opens up a spot in the rotation, either directly or indirectly, for a guy with more of a chance at a future. All that matters to me is that we change two top-10 rotation guys out for younger, higher ceiling guys. One of those will come from the draft at #12, and the other guy should effectively replace one of Vuc, Collins, Huerter or Ball, just cause those guys are older than Smith, Matas, Giddey, Patrick (who's obviously negative value), Ayo and Coby. The rest of the guys aren't in the rotation so I don't care about them.

[jnrjr79]

I think it is less definitive, but there were rumors that we were hung up on compensation, then the Warriors got Jimmy Butler instead and no longer could do our deal. From a practical sense, it feels more likely to me that our deal was more of a backup given that if they were negotiating on Butler it feels unlikely they'd have a firm offer for us that would sink that deal.

Vuc also started coming back down to earth with his 3P shooting. Bulls needed to trade him ASAP at the hot start, but in Bulls fashion we wait until assets depreciate.

GS was reported to be seriously interested when Vuc was shooting 48% from 3...

Read on Twitter

I don't think GS has the salary to make the deal work now. They'd need to include Moody, Santos and TJD to make the $ work, and that's not happening.

I think any GS deal would be a S&T for Kuminga if GS doesn't want to pay him and the Bulls do.

[Indomitable]

My simple deal of Vuc for Nurkic/#33 is to free up shots for others, improve our defense, save a bit of $ and help a team MAYBE finish above us (Char). Char should try to start winning, now that they have young talent and their pick debt is extinguished.

Nurkic would play a bit as a 3rd center and is another big expiring

I don't know why Charlotte would think Vuc is meaningfully better than Nurkic, but I'd sure take this deal if it were on the table.

Nurkic is truly awful now. He makes Vuc look like a star.

Nurkic does nothing well other then foul.

[ChettheJet]

Breaking News.

I watched a part of some podcast on the wire and some fool as saying that the Bulls could extend Vuc for 2-3 years at the same $20M. Schrooms right?

I think you have to stops looking at a two team trade or all you get back is Nurkic which is a tall nothing. Look for 3 or even 4 team trades where stars making more than Vuc get moved, the Bulls get a return like in the Lavine trade, an expiring, some guys who are still on their rookie contract or first extension and the team wants to start a tank so they don't mind an expiring Vucevic while they're moving a higher priced contract.

With few teams interested in him, it's just foolish for the Bulls to make any lateral move for a similar big man. Nobody is untradeable , but you have to look beyond the obvious trade machine moves.

[MrSparkle]

Moving Vuc is addition by subtraction. Don't expect 82 games out of Collins or Smith, but let's say they give you half... It'll be about the same as the 82 games Vuc gives you with good offense and terrible defense. Easy to scheme. Any solid team can scheme and blow a Vuc team out the building. It's an insurmountable handicap to play with.

Extending Vuc would be asinine.

Whether AK gives him up for nothing, is another story. I'd gladly take Nurkic and 33 (who is possibly/probably worse... but at least Billy is forced to play different Cs).

[WindyCityBorn]

Ultimately, there's really no sense in trading Vuc anymore than trading Huerter or Collins or anyone else. He's now just a big expiring salary, and the roster isn't likely to go anywhere from a performance perspective either way. If you can get a 2nd rounder for any one of those guys you should do it, but there's no reason to think Vuc is more likely to get you one than the other two.

The reason to trade Vuc is because he hinders development of younger players. With Vuc gone Buzelis gets to be the second or third. We all get play two younger centers more that might actually have a future with the team.

I don’t want him helping us win and I don’t want him taking 15 shots away from other players.

[Red Larrivee]

Ultimately, there's really no sense in trading Vuc anymore than trading Huerter or Collins or anyone else. He's now just a big expiring salary, and the roster isn't likely to go anywhere from a performance perspective either way. If you can get a 2nd rounder for any one of those guys you should do it, but there's no reason to think Vuc is more likely to get you one than the other two.

The reason to trade Vuc is because he hinders development of younger players. With Vuc gone Buzelis gets to be the second or third. We all get play two younger centers more that might actually have a future with the team.

I don’t want him helping us win and I don’t want him taking 15 shots away from other players.

Valid. But, you may also want to consider that there could be no market for him. Charlotte isn't trading a 33rd overall pick to take him on. Let's be for real. There's not a whole lot of teams in need of a stretch center at that salary, unless they're trying to shed a bad contract.

Otherwise, good chance Vuc is here until the deadline with a reduced starter role. Then they buy him out later if he still can't be moved.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Given we have few roster spots, my guess is we are more likely to keep Vooch till the trade deadline.

Then basically waive him if we cant trade him.

[sco]

Given we have few roster spots, my guess is we are more likely to keep Vooch till the trade deadline.

Then basically waive him if we cant trade him.

I wonder how much of a discount Vuc might take in a buyout? I think there would be a ton of takers at tax-payer MLE $, which is around $6M. I doubt anyone would offer him a full MLE deal.

So if he took a buyout at $15M. That may be our best option.

[dougthonus]

The reason to trade Vuc is because he hinders development of younger players. With Vuc gone Buzelis gets to be the second or third. We all get play two younger centers more that might actually have a future with the team.

I don’t want him helping us win and I don’t want him taking 15 shots away from other players.

Seems to me to be a pretty dicey argument that Vuc and Buzelis are competing for the same minutes. Huerter played 30 minutes a game and Collins played 20, so those guys also are taking minutes from other players and probably aren't here for the long term.

And don't worry, Vuc isn't helping us win games.

Again, I don't care if we trade him, but we're not getting any value back and he's gone next year. Just shouldn't be viewed as a huge factor IMO.

[_txchilibowl_]

It should be noted that for all his deficiencies as a player Vuc is one of the veteran leaders on the team and a consummate professional. There's value in that.

Not saying you don't take a good deal for him but to just give him away in a lateral move would be counterproductive.

[League Circles]

It should be noted that for all his deficiencies as a player Vuc is one of the veteran leaders on the team and a consummate professional. There's value in that.

Not saying you don't take a good deal for him but to just give him away in a lateral move would be counterproductive.

Idk, to me refusing to even pretend to challenge shots at the rim 95% of the time isn't being a consummate professional.

C is one of two key weaknesses in our projected starting 5. Smith is an OK prospect, and hopefully IMO we draft another. Collins is OK, but IMO either he or Vuc needs to go to open up opportunities for younger guys. C is not only arguably our weakest position, it's also our deepest, with 3 competent guys who all have notable salaries and all ostensibly deserve to play, and who can probably only play at that position. We don't have a similar situation at any other position:

5: Vuc, Collins, Smith
4: Matas
3: Giddey, Patrick
2: Huerter, Ball
1: Coby, Ayo

[sco]

The reason to trade Vuc is because he hinders development of younger players. With Vuc gone Buzelis gets to be the second or third. We all get play two younger centers more that might actually have a future with the team.

I don’t want him helping us win and I don’t want him taking 15 shots away from other players.

Seems to me to be a pretty dicey argument that Vuc and Buzelis are competing for the same minutes. Huerter played 30 minutes a game and Collins played 20, so those guys also are taking minutes from other players and probably aren't here for the long term.

And don't worry, Vuc isn't helping us win games.

Again, I don't care if we trade him, but we're not getting any value back and he's gone next year. Just shouldn't be viewed as a huge factor IMO.

It's not the minute competition, but when playing, Vuc is arguably the #2 option and Buzelis is the 4th option. I want Matas to be the undisputed 3rd option. Last season Vuc took 14+ shots per game where Matas too 7 (trending-up post ASB). I'd like to see Matas get to 12-13 shots per game next season and have more plays run for him in order for him to get more experience in a meaningful role...Vuc's shots get in the way of that. If Vuc is playing, you sorta gotta feed him because if he's not shooting, he's completely useless.

I would love Vuc to just be out 6th man and play 18-22 MPG off the bench where I think he'd thrive, but he's a bit of a pouter and I think he'll struggle with that here. He might accept that role more gracefully on a contending team.

[dougthonus]

The reason to trade Vuc is because he hinders development of younger players. With Vuc gone Buzelis gets to be the second or third. We all get play two younger centers more that might actually have a future with the team.

I don’t want him helping us win and I don’t want him taking 15 shots away from other players.

Seems to me to be a pretty dicey argument that Vuc and Buzelis are competing for the same minutes. Huerter played 30 minutes a game and Collins played 20, so those guys also are taking minutes from other players and probably aren't here for the long term.

And don't worry, Vuc isn't helping us win games.

Again, I don't care if we trade him, but we're not getting any value back and he's gone next year. Just shouldn't be viewed as a huge factor IMO.

It's not the minute competition, but when playing, Vuc is arguably the #2 option and Buzelis is the 4th option. I want Matas to be the undisputed 3rd option. Last season Vuc took 14+ shots per game where Matas too 7 (trending-up post ASB). I'd like to see Matas get to 12-13 shots per game next season and have more plays run for him in order for him to get more experience in a meaningful role...Vuc's shots get in the way of that. If Vuc is playing, you sorta gotta feed him because if he's not shooting, he's completely useless.

I would love Vuc to just be out 6th man and play 18-22 MPG off the bench where I think he'd thrive, but he's a bit of a pouter and I think he'll struggle with that here. He might accept that role more gracefully on a contending team.

Yeah, fair enough, I view that a bit more as a coaching issue that doesn't need to be resolved by trading Vuc but could be resolved by simply coaching the game differently, but I agree it is unlikely that if Vuc is on the roster that we'll cut his minutes down to 15 a game or cut down his shots. Worth noting, if you look at shots per 36, Vuc is around 16.4 and Matas is at 13.2, so not really a huge gap there, but if you want this to be a developmental year, then I agree it is more important not to play Vuc.

Of course, it doesn't look like our management is aiming at a developmental year.

[League Circles]

In theory we can get by without a C trade IF:

1. We don't draft one at 12 or 45
2. We can't trade for or sign an interesting one
3. Billy plays Vuc, Collins and Smith each roughly 1/3 of the game in order to maintain whatever trade value they have while giving Smith a chance.