The Nikola Vučević trade discourse feels like a never-ending cycle. It builds at the start of the season, only to fade as the trade deadline approaches. That rise-and-fall pattern is synonymous with Vučević’s play as well. For the second straight season, the 35-year-old center started hot before cooling off quickly.
Last season, Vučević averaged 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc in December. By January, the 6-foot-10 big man saw his scoring dip to 18.4 points per game and his three-point percentage plummet to 26.8 percent. It didn’t get any better from there, as he struggled immensely in February.
This season, the decline has started even earlier. Vučević opened the year averaging 19.8 points and 12.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc in October. By November, his scoring had dropped to 15.2 points per game, and his three-point percentage fell to 36.2 percent. Now halfway through December, Vučević is averaging just 13.2 points while hitting only 31.6 percent of his threes.
Chicago has to trade Vučević’ before its too late
It’s an alarming trend—not because Vučević’s declining impact is crippling the Bulls, but because it makes extracting any meaningful trade value increasingly difficult.
It’s far easier to net a quality return for a player averaging a 20-point double-double while shooting north of 40 percent from three than it is for one averaging fewer than 15 points and hitting around 30 percent from long range. When you factor in Vučević’s porous defense and his age, it becomes almost impossible to move a player posting his current statistics.
Chicago’s window to trade Vučević is rapidly closing, and the organization should be well aware of it. Perhaps Billy Donovan recognizes the inevitable, which would explain his increased use of Zach Collins and Jalen Smith—going as far as sitting Vučević for the final 19 minutes of a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Nonetheless, the Bulls must not only field potential suitors but also navigate the delicate task of keeping Vučević in the lineup without further eroding his already declining trade value. Chicago hasn’t looked good with the 35-year-old on the floor, as evidenced by his minus-6.9 net rating. Yet sitting the big man would essentially amount to waving the white flag on the trade front.
That leaves one viable option, and it begins now. As of December 15, most of the NBA becomes trade-eligible, opening the door for far more active deal discussions. The Bulls must start fielding calls for Vučević and ultimately send the former All-Star elsewhere to the highest bidder—even if the return amounts to only a few second-round picks.