Nikola Vucevic, C
It wasn’t long ago that the move by executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley to trade for star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic back at the deadline was lauded by Bulls fans. And this move still should give Bulls fans plenty of optimism heading into the offseason.
Karnisovas and the Bulls now have a legitimate star duo that is both pretty affordable and gives the franchise something to build around. Vucevic was definitely the most notable new addition to the Bulls since last offseason. There were other key additions such as center Daniel Theis, shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr., and rookie forward Patrick Williams.
But nothing quite matched the level of hype that the Vooch trade brought to the table for the Bulls.
Vooch saw some inconsistent outings of late, but he’s going to be a star for the Bulls to build a foundation off of. And the career accolades that he brings to the table makes him one of the most likely Bulls players at this moment to be on a Hall of Fame ballot after he calls it quits.
In his career to date, Vooch is a two-time All-Star selection, three-time Player of the Week, and one-time Player of the Month. During his time with the USC Trojans playing college ball, Vooch was also a two-time All-PAC 12 selection and a one-time AP All-American.
Given that Vooch was an All-Star selection in two of the past three years, his nods in this regard might be far from over. And his career numbers look pretty good too. For his nine years in the NBA to date, he’s averaged roughly 17 points per game, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. And he’s shot 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and 76 percent from the free-throw line.
If Vooch continues to play at a level where he averages around 24 points per game, a dozen rebounds, four assists and shoots around 50 percent from the field and above 40 percent from beyond the arc, more All-Star nods will be on the way. And thus, his odds to make it into the Hall of Fame could go way up.