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The Chicago Bulls front office stayed true to its offseason refrain of continuity by announcing Wednesday that it extended the contract of center Nikola Vučević.
The extension — reported as a three-year, $60 million deal by The Athletic and ESPN — will maintain a key veteran presence in the Bulls locker room.
Vučević, 32, averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds and 3.2 assists over the last two seasons for the Bulls and started all 82 games last season. After struggling early with the transition following his March 2021 trade from the Orlando Magic, where he was the centerpiece of the offense, Vučević carved out a more functional role for himself last season in which he shifted his focus away from 3-pointers.
At the end of the season, both Vučević and the front office voiced a shared goal to keep the center in Chicago for the near future.
“I’m excited to continue my journey as a Chicago Bull,” Vučević said in a statement. “Since I have arrived in Chicago, everyone in the organization has been incredibly welcoming to my family and me. I am motivated more than ever to achieve our mutual goals as a team.”
The Bulls’ decision to trade for Vučević has been a point of contention since he arrived in Chicago. The acquisition cost the Bulls a pair of first-round draft picks, Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. And while Vučević has been an upgrade at center, the Bulls have relatively little to show for it — one winning season and one playoff win.
Despite this record, executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas reiterated confidence in the Vučević acquisition after the final piece of the trade — the No. 11 pick in this month’s draft, which the Magic used to select Jett Howard — was determined.
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“I think that transaction when we brought (Vučević) here showed everyone that we’re trying to win,” Karnišovas said on draft night. “Once we brought Vooch, we brought in DeMar (DeRozan). We brought Alex Caruso. We brought (Lonzo Ball). That started trying to improve our team and trying to be competitive. I thought that deal worked out pretty well for us.”
Vučević’s extension also brightens the spotlight on the Bulls’ dwindling salary-cap space. They reportedly have extended qualifying offers to Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White and Terry Taylor, and center Andre Drummond has stated his intention to exercise his player option.
If all four of those players return, the Bulls would have four roster spots left — and likely would be working with $10 million or less to remain below the luxury-tax threshold, which Karnišovas said they would exceed only if they feel confident in competing in the top third of the Eastern Conference.
The front office gained some unexpected wiggle room when forward Derrick Jones Jr. declined his player option, but the Bulls remain limited by Zach LaVine’s maximum contract and Ball’s uncertain status.
The Bulls have two glaring problems to address this offseason — improving their outside shooting and filling the starting point guard role left vacant by Ball. Extending Vučević is not a solution to either weakness.
But retaining Vučević could be the first shaky step toward a complete doubling down by the Bulls front office, which has preached patience and consistency through two underperforming seasons led by the “Big Three” of Vučević, LaVine and DeRozan.
With Ball not expected to play in 2023-24, the wheels have come off the original plans laid by Karnišovas and the front office after acquiring Vučević. As free agency opens Friday, the Bulls now face a turning point — either shake up the core of this roster or risk another year of repetition.
