Trade, trades, trades. The Chicago Bulls are the talk of the town when it comes to trade chatter. So many Bulls have been linked to the rumor mill lately that it's gotten out of hand. No matter who else is mentioned, Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine are the most probable trade chips.
Despite Vucevic and LaVine being the poster boys for trade candidacy, there's no assurance that one or both players will be dealt by the February 6 trade deadline. A year ago, LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso were often mentioned by media outlets as "players most likely to be traded." While DeRozan and Caruso were ultimately sent elsewhere, it occurred later than expected, in the offseason instead of the regular season. And, of course, LaVine remains a Chicago Bull.
Nevertheless, there will be no shortage of teams picking up the phones and dialing the Bulls' Front Office, inquiring about Vucevic, LaVine, and many others. Although LaVine is widely accepted as the better player of the two, he'll be far more difficult to trade because of his contract and the new CBA. The 6-foot-6 swingman is slated to earn $138 million over the next three seasons. At about $45 million annually, only so many teams are capable of affording LaVine.
On the other hand, Vucevic is on the books for two seasons and $41 million. His contract next season will only account for about 14 percent of the salary cap. Not bad for a 20-and-10 player who's converting a career-high 47.4 percent of his three-pointers. Moreover, with only one additional season left on his contract, Vucevic is the easier player for teams to work into their finances.
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer doesn't include Vucevic in his top trade targets
Vucevic appears to be one of the more appealing candidates on the trade market. Right? Well, not exactly, according to a prominent NBA Insider. When prompted with the question, "[Is Vucevic] a top 10 trade target before the deadline?" on the CHGO Bulls Podcast, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer candidly replied, "No, I don't, unfortunately."
Fischer elaborated by saying even though he has a "soft spot for Vooch," he's not one of the most desirable trade candidates. Fischer pointed to players who are considered to be on "amazing, value deals" instead as the top trade targets. The NBA Insider named Jonas Valanciunas as the most coveted center on the market because of his modest, three-year, $30 million contract over the likes of Vucevic and Clint Capela, who earn north of $20 million annually.
Although $20 million is quite a lot of money, in NBA terms, it's actually not that much. For reference, the average NBA salary is roughly $12 million. Vucevic is the 12th highest-paid center in the NBA. Despite being the 12th highest-paid, Vooch is fourth in points, 12th in rebounding, and fifth in three-point field goals per game.
Making the argument that Vucevic isn't a top-10 trade candidate is perplexing. Sure, players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, and Brandon Ingram should be considered top targets, but how likely is it that their respective teams will pull the trigger? Okay, Ingram is a possibility, but at $36 million, he's not the easiest player to trade for, either.
As far as plausible trade candidates go, Vucevic likely falls within the top 10. At the time of writing, only Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram, and Jonathan Kuminga are surefire better options than the 34-year-old Vucevic. One could argue Kyle Kuzma, Anfernee Simons, and Jerami Grant (who have all received trade interest) are better than Vooch, but that's far from a given.