The latest Chicago Bulls news, including Nikola Vucevic's EuroBasket exhibition brilliance, Coby White trade chatter and a promising Matas Buzelis prediction.
Nikola Vucevic is a walking double-double in international play too
Stateside, any news that involves Bulls center Nikola Vucevic focuses on his exit from Chicago, whether via trade or potentially an in-season buyout.
In an 88-76 win over Israel, which features Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Vucevic finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, a stat line not unlike the ones he's consistently put up throughout his NBA career.
Vucevic is in the final year of his contract with the Bulls but is coming off a season in which he averaged -- you guessed it -- a double-double with 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from 3-point range.
Teams reportedly investigating a potential Coby White trade
According to Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal, multiple teams have called the Bulls concerning the availability of the 25-year-old White, although Chicago has apparently turned back any offers.
Like Vucevic, White is in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He averaged a career-high 20.4 points last year and scored 26.0 points per contest in his final 21 games, connecting on 38.3 percent of his threes over that span.
White will likely command a hefty salary next summer, but the Bulls are in a good position to pay him. And they should.
Matas Buzelis: Chicago Bulls franchise superstar?
Josh Giddey's restricted free agency still looms. White's future is uncertain. But the Bulls should be more concerned with the player who could develop into their franchise cornerstone, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: Matas Buzelis.
"There’s no reason that by the 2026-27 season, Buzelis isn’t leading the Bulls in scoring, field-goal percentage and blocked shots while emerging as the top wing defender/rim protector on the roster," Cowley writes.
That's not an off-the-wall prediction. Buzelis showed at the end of last season and into summer league that he's developing on a steeply upward trajectory. He will be a critical part of whatever Chicago does this year.
It sounds hyperbolic, but it's not; the 20-year-old could be the Bulls' franchise superstar a few seasons from now.