Nikola Vucevic had an excellent season over the course of 2024-25. The Montenegrin center averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 40.2% from the 3-point line over 73 games. He continued to average under a block per game as that has never been a big part of Vucevic’s game, but despite not being a rim protector he manned a defense that finished a respectable 18th in Defensive Rating.

The 3-point shooting is the major question mark for Vucevic as we head into the 2025-26 regular season. We obviously have a career’s worth of data to say you shouldn’t leave Vucevic open on the perimeter, but his 40.2% mark last season was the best of his long career. The reason it is tough to know if we can trust this is that he shot a putrid 29.4% in 2024 and 34.9% in 2023.

We can make the case that 6-foot-8 playmaker Josh Giddey is perhaps the best pure passer that Vucevic has played with in his career. And even if we consider Lonzo Ball in this category, the Bulls had not yet kicked it up a notch to the fast-paced play style we are accustomed to seeing them play now. The combination of Giddey and that up-tempo style certainly played a huge factor in Vucevic’s big year. But the question for rival teams is: was last season smoke and mirrors for Vucevic? Or was it a case of Vucevic being paired with the right type of guards to maximize his game?

Vucevic will enter the 2025-26 season on an approximately $21.5 million expiring contract. There hasn’t been much reported trade interest in Vuc besides some rumblings that the Golden State Warriors were interested before they ultimately made their big trade for Jimmy Butler. But this upcoming offseason there will be at the very least eight teams with cap space.

While there may not be a long line of (playoff) teams necessarily looking to start Vucevic, there could certainly be a more robust than expected market if he can repeat last year’s season. And even if there is some expected age-related dropoff, a 3-point percentage anywhere north of 37% would at least show that Vucevic retains some league-wide utility as the always valuable floor-spacing big archetype. On top of the aforementioned shooting, Vucevic was a solid passing hub in the Chicago offense with his 4.0 assists per 36 minutes.

The defensive concerns that come with having Vucevic on the floor are well known by now. And if you’re a playoff–not Play-In–team, being forced into drop coverage on defense due to Vucevic can be a tough proposition in certain matchups. But with his willingness to move the ball and take the 3-point shot aggressively despite fluctuating efficiency, I believe Vucevic will hold solid value in the final year of his deal. The question is: will the Bulls front office actually look to move Vucevic?