Chicago Bulls: Nikola Vucevic says he will ‘never stop improving’

Potentially the most anticipated player for Chicago Bulls fans to see make an impact heading into next season is the newly acquired former Orlando Magic star center Nikola Vucevic. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley mortgaged a good portion of the Bulls’ future to get Vuvevic from the Magic at the trade deadline back on March 25.

What the Bulls shipped off to get both Vooch and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu were third-year center Wendell Carter Jr., veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round draft picks. That was a lot to risk for the Bulls to get Vooch. But it feels like something that was needed given the lack of progress in the rebuild to date.

Realistically, unless Karnisovas and Eversley were confident in exclusively trying to build through the draft and free agency, trading for Vooch is a good way for the Bulls to become a legit postseason contender. They have something to be confident now to build around between the trio of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, rookie forward Patrick Williams, and Vooch.

This is going to quickly become one of the more appealing brewing big market teams around the NBA for prospective free agents to play for.

Mindset moving forward for Chicago Bulls star Nikola Vucevic

Moreover, Vooch seems to be optimistic about what’s to come for his game individually, and what’s to come for the Bulls as a team. In a piece with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic this week (paid content), Vooch opened up on the progression of his game and how he’s feeling with the Bulls this summer.

It is specifically worth noting that Vooch mentioned that he will “never stop improving”, even at this point of his career at the age of 30. Vooch seemed to be big on the idea of using previous experience to tie into the current strengths of his game. And while that may seem obvious, it’s nice to hear a star as big as Vooch for the Bulls still trying to take a strong approach to his development with his new team.

You could easily argue that both LaVine and Vooch deserved a spot at least on the All-NBA Third-Team this year. Both LaVine and Vooch were All-Star selections this year, granted on different teams at the time.

Vooch himself averaged 23.4 points per game, 11.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks, during the 2020-21 regular season. And he shot 47.7 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Once LaVine and Vooch (and whoever else the Bulls are able to acquire this summer) are able to get a full season in together, this Bulls team should have the potential to at least increase their win total by a mark of 10 or 15 next season. That would likely help to snap the four-year long postseason drought in Chicago at the moment.

The Bulls finished up last season with a record of 31-41 under the direction of first-year head coach Billy Donovan. That was why the Bulls missed out on the postseason for the fourth consecutive year to round out their run this season.