Chicago Bulls: 3 bold predictions for Nikola Vucevic in the Windy City

It was the big move of deadline day for first-year Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. The Bulls landed the now former Orlando Magic star big man Nikola Vucevic along with forward Al-Farouq Aminu in exchange for a host of players and future draft capital.

The pieces included by Karnisovas and the Bulls in that deal to bring Vucevic to the Windy City included two future first round draft picks (each lottery-protected in their own right) along with veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. and third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. That was still a lot to part ways with for Karnisovas and the Bulls to get a two-time All-Star selection to town in Vucevic.

We’ll find out starting with the Bulls March 27 road meeting with legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs if Vucevic is a good fit with the Bulls out of the gates. First-year head coach Billy Donovan does surely have more weapons at his disposal post-deadline than he did in the first half of the regular season.

Proper expectations for Nikola Vucevic with the Chicago Bulls

There’s now a true star duo in the Windy City between Vucevic and star shooting guard Zach LaVine. The Bulls can truly contend for a significant spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture at this point of the season after getting a truly special haul at the deadline.

A few of the other notable additions for the Bulls at the deadline included former Washington Wizards small forward Troy Brown Jr., and shooting guard Javonte Green and big man Daniel Theis from the Boston Celtics.

Although, the other additions at the deadline for the Bulls pale in comparison to the impact that Vucevic can make right away. Here’s a look at three bold predictions for Vooch with the Bulls through the rest of this season.