The Bulls were able to move Zach LaVine before Thursday’s deadline but they’re having a tougher time dealing center Nikola Vucevic.
Citing multiple sources, the Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley said that two separate deals involving Vucevic fell apart on Tuesday. One of Cowley’s sources stressed that the situation remains fluid.
Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto reported earlier on Tuesday that the Lakers and Warriors are among Vucevic’s rumored suitors. It’s not certain whether the two deals the Bulls were trying to put together occurred with those two teams.
Vucevic isn’t the only player the Bulls are looking to move. They’re also fielding trade offers for Coby White and Lonzo Ball, among others. The players they acquired in the LaVine trade with Sacramento and San Antonio — Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter — are being held out because one or more of them could be attached in a package if a bigger deal materializes, Cowley adds.
Despite the uncertainty, the Bulls defeated Miami, 133-124. on Tuesday. Vucevic, Ball and White were all in the starting lineup and played anywhere from 29 to 33 minutes.
Vucevic has one more year remaining on his contract. He’ll make $21.5MM next season. Ball has an expiring contract and White has one more year left on his deal.
Coach Billy Donovan acknowledged that a lot could happen before Thursday’s deadline. The franchise has grown weary of being stuck in mediocrity.
“You’ve got to be able to have a partner in that to make things happen,” Donovan said. “I still think there’s a long process in this quite honestly. You have a few more days left in this (trade deadline) period, you’re going to move into the draft, move into free agency in July, so there’s going to be windows to make these things happen. ’m all for doing what’s best for the organization. All the way from top to bottom everybody felt the same way. We’re kind of in the middle here and we had to make a shift and do something, and that’s been the goal to try and get that done.”