Offseason Report Card: Bulls get an A, three Bs and a C for summer moves

6. Re-signed Nikola Vucevic

Signed Nikola Vucevic to a 3-year, $60 million extension beginning in 2023.

The Chicago Bulls had to re-sign Nikola Vucevic, because to lose him for nothing would be more harmful to their future success than re-signing him would be.

That’s the truth that the Chicago front office must have bought into because otherwise, this is a move that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Bringing back Vucevic at $20 million per season for the next three years is a move that further locks them into purgatory in the present and prevents them from tearing down in the future.

Vucevic is not on a tradeable contract; teams don’t need centers as it is, and they certainly don’t want to match $20 million in salary for a center who doesn’t protect the rim and is only getting worse as he ages; he’ll turn 33 years old during the opening week of the season.

The Bulls overpaid for Vucevic once, and now they’re watching Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. thrive in Orlando. They have done so once again, locking the door to their tower of purgatory and handing Vucevic the key.

Grade: C-