Key pieces of the Chicago Bulls new core to build around: Nikola Vucevic
It was nice to see Karnisovas and the Bulls make that big deadline day trade back on March 25 to get a true star running mate for LaVine. The Bulls did mortgage a good portion of their future to land Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, and the jury is still out on how this trade will go down for both sides.
But it did feel like something that had to be done given how time looked to be running out with LaVine’s patience playing for the Bulls. Karnisovas and Eversley evaluated what talent they had on hand for most of the regular season and then made moves to try and position this roster to make a deep playoff run in the near future.
A lot of the story that will be told of who wins this trade between the Bulls and the Magic will come down to what happens in Chicago in the postseason next year. Make a solid postseason run and extend Zach, and landing Vooch will look to be a good move for the Bulls. Otherwise, the Bulls will find themselves in a tough spot with the 30-year-old star big man.
Vooch got his second career All-Star nod this year, and there should be more on the way in the coming seasons. There might not be much time left that Vooch has in his prime years and the Bulls need to make the most of them in the meantime. Building around a true star duo of LaVine and Vooch is the main task at hand for Karnisovas this offseason.