The Chicago Bulls have been squandering in basketball purgatory for several years now and that is not a play any NBA franchise wants to be.
Chicago hasn't been good enough to make a meaningful playoff run in quite some time, having not won a single postseason series since the 2014-15 campaign. They haven't been bad enough to have many cracks at making a high lottery pick, either, as they last selected in the top five in 2020 and wound up drafting Patrick Williams, who is rumored to be available via trade this offseason.
With the Bulls' outlook for the 2025-26 campaign not being much different than what their supporters have, unfortunately, grown accustomed to seeing, many fans are now clamoring for Chicago to make a drastic decision regarding the future of one of the team's longest-tenured players.
Bulls Fans Begging for Drastic Vucevic Move as Trade Market Shrinks
If you frequent Bulls Reddit, or even just follow media personalities from the Windy City, you already know that fans in Chicago have been ready to see Nikola Vucevic suit up for any team but the Bulls for quite some time.
Vucevic is entering the final season of a three-year, $60 million contract and is set to earn just under $21.5 million for the 2025-26 campaign. Even as an expiring deal, there has been very little trade interest in Vucevic to this point in the offseason and that isn't expected to change.
This has fans in Chicago so desperate for a change that they're open to the idea of buying the big man out of the final year of his contract, just so the franchise can stop being just good enough to lose in the Play-In Tournament.
We have seen several players reach buyout agreements this offseason with their former teams and more could still be on the way as Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns figure out what their partnership looks like moving forward. Buying out Vucevic seems more like a pipe dream than a potential reality, though.
The fact of the matter is Vucevic is still a productive player and the Bulls should be able to get something for him, eventually. While it hasn't translated into success in Chicago, there will be teams open to the idea of adding a forward who shot 40.2% from beyond the arc this past season while also averaging over 10 rebounds per game.
Being patient and waiting for a deal to come along that will provide assets in return is the better business move, no matter how badly fans want him to be shown the door.