Chicago Bulls News: Nikola Vucevic signing three-year contract extension

The Chicago Bulls wasted no time in accomplishing their top off-season priority in re-signing center Nikola Vucevic.

Vucevic was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday at the start of the NBA Free Agency but the Bulls were able to reach an agreement on a three-year contract extension with their starting center.

Once the NBA Trade Deadline passed last season and the Bulls opted for retaining Vucevic for the remainder of the season, it seemed pretty clear that the team’s intention was to re-sign the All-Star center.

The Vucevic trade for the Bulls has proven to be a disappointment. Though, to be fair Vucevic was not the reason why the Bulls’ 2022-2023 season went off the rails. In fact, Vucevic, individually, had a respectable season with the Bulls last season. Vucevic averaged 17 points per game while totaling 11 rebounds per game and the problem was with how he was utilized in the Bulls’ offense.

Nikola Vucevic is returning to Chicago Bulls for three more seasons.

There is a universe where the Bulls’ offense can be successful if it is run through Vucevic. The issue is that with the Bulls having two ball-dominant players in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, Vucevic often was a non-factor in the fourth quarter of games last season.

Much like the Bulls were forced to re-sign LaVine to a maximum contract extension last season, they were in a similar position this summer with Vucevic. No, Vucevic was not going to get a max deal from the Bulls this summer but there was no way that the team’s front office could have survived had they let the veteran walk this summer for nothing.

Vucevic’s extension also points to the idea that the Bulls’ front office will be running it back with their core as opposed to starting a rebuild. Rumors have hinted at the idea of the Bulls trading either DeRozan or Lavine but that seems unlikely with today’s news.