With the 2025 NBA trade deadline just under a week away, many questions exist for the Chicago Bulls and their roster. Although Zach Lavine has been one of the main players discussed in trade rumors this season, big man Nikola Vucevic has garnered attention from several teams. In the second year of his three-year, $60 million deal, trading for Vucevic would give any team the big man for a potential playoff run this season in addition to all of next season.
The veteran big man averaging 19.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game on a career-high percentage from the field and nearly 40 percent from three has been linked to several teams, most notably the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. While many have seen the Bulls' asking price of a first-round draft pick as too much for the big man, the Bulls themselves have been rumored to have turned down a separate deal for Vuceivc.
The Hawks were rumored to be interested in acquiring Vucevic
The rumor, coming from Matt Moore of The Action Network, the Bulls recently declined a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for big man Clint Capela. Rumors would suggest the Bulls were interested in the Capela over the summer, but with the Bulls shifting directions, that trade was no longer of intrigue. The most recent rumor would suggest the Hawks offered Capela's expiring deal for Vucevic. However, the Bulls would turn down the trade—as the Hawks failed to include draft compensation alongside Capela in the rumored proposal.
The Hawks veteran, who averages 9.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks, is in the second year of his two-year, $45.8 million deal. He has taken a step back in recent seasons. Nevertheless, the Bulls would have been interested in his near-expiring pact. Capela's contract, however, does not fit with the Bulls' new timeline, and the Bulls did not add any draft assets in the hypothetical swap, making it difficult for them to consider the Hawks' offer.
With the Hawks not having control of their first-round picks until 2028 and new rumors suggesting Atlanta is interested in Brandon Ingram; a milder offer for Vucevic was expected. As the deadline grows closer and teams up their offers, it is believed that the 34-year-old will be off the Bulls' roster before February 6.
For any team that should trade for Vucevic, they will be getting one of the most reliable and underrated big men in the league. In his three full seasons with Chicago, Vucevic has played 73 or more games in all three seasons. As of this writing, Vucevic has played 47 of the team's 48 games this season while shooting almost a career-high from beyond the arc.