Veterans depart as the Chicago Bulls embrace a rebuild. Veteran center Nikola Vucevic heads to Boston, signaling a significant roster shake-up before the deadline. And the Bulls still aren't done, right?
CHICAGO, Ill. — The Chicago Bulls have an expensive roster loaded with veterans, but it hasn't equated to wins, not enough of them anyway. They are 24-27 this season and barely hanging in to the final play-in spot.
They haven't won an NBA playoff series since beating Milwaukee in the first round of the 2015 playoffs. All they've done in the five-plus years of the Billy Donovan era is lose three straight play-in games.
That's not nearly enough, of course.
The Bulls appear to be surrendering and moving on with their rebuild. They made two trades on Tuesday, sending veteran center Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics. The 35-year-old has been one of their stars since 2021. They also traded Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric earlier in the day.
Here's the story from Bulls Roundtable publisher Gavin Dorsey.
Vucevic is in the final year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Vucevic has averaged 16.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 48 starts this season.
The Bulls may not be done before Thursday's trade deadline, either. By adding guards Jaden Ivey (Detroit) and Mike Conley (Minnesota) earlier in the three-team trade, they may ship out other guys in the final year of their deals, too.
Simons, a former first-round pick in Portland, has played well off the bench for Boston. Simons has averaged 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Karnisovas still has several more expiring contracts to work with, including Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Zach Collins. He may not look to move all three, but his acquisition of three new guards casts doubt that White and Dosunmu will both be a part of the team's future.
Vucevic was well-liked by his teammates, so it's hard to see him go. But the NBA is a business, and the Bulls — who won six NBA titles in the 1990s — haven't been a contender now for a decade..
Getting Jaden Ivey from Detroit was interesting. The former Purdue star will turn 24 next week, and he's still got plenty of NBA potential. He was the fifth-overall pick of the Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft and paired well with star Carson Cunningham.
Ivey broke his leg on Jan. 1, 2025 and wasn't able to get back in the lineup. He returned this year, but had lost his starting job to Ausur Thompson and played just 16 minutes off the bench, averaging 8.2 points per game.
The Pistons are 37-12 this season, far and away the top team in the Eastern Conference.