3 Ways the Bulls can solve the Nikola Vucevic problem
By Alex Johnson
The Bulls trade Nikola Vucevic to the Raptors
Toronto Raptors receive
Nikola Vucevic ($40 million / 2 years)
Chicago Bulls receive
Kelly Olynyk ($26.2 million/ 2 years)
Chris Boucher ($10.8 million/ 1 year)
2nd Round Pick
Why the Raptors would make this trade
They are not in the Flop for Flagg sweepstakes. They are a young team that wants to crack into the top six. They are poised with Quickley, Barrett, Barnes, Poeltl to push for the play-in with the hopes for more. Vucevic gives them an upgrade to backup Poeltl and could still be used as a spot starter when necessary.
Why the Bulls would make this trade
The Bulls direction is still not completely clear, but this would be a move to clearly state that they will be joining the tank race. One of the bigger subplots heading into the 2024-25 season for the Bulls is the fact the San Antonio Spurs have a top-10 protected claim on the team's 1st round selection. Overall, the Bulls would get two veteran big men to back up Jalen Smith. They would also save $7 million in cap space in 2025-26 and receive some draft capital.