A few years ago, the Chicago Bulls were entrenched in a brutal rebuild that looked never-ending. But in the 2020-21 season, they made a splash, trading for Nikola Vucevic at the deadline. At the time, it was an eyebrow-raising move that showed Chicago’s intention to form a competitive roster.
Unfortunately, the Bulls have only won a single playoff game since then, despite making more additions on top of the Vucevic trade. Plus, they had to give up two first-round draft picks in the deal, and those firsts turned into Franz Wagner and Jett Howard – two players who would have seriously brightened Chicago’s future.
However, when asked about the move during his post-2023 NBA Draft press conference, Arturas Karnisovas defended the trade, saying it “worked out pretty well” for the Bulls.
“I think that transaction when we brought Vooch here showed everyone that we’re trying to win,” Karnišovas said via KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I think once we brought Vooch, we brought in DeMar (DeRozan), we brought Alex Caruso, we brought ‘Zo (Lonzo Ball). That started trying to improve our team and trying to be competitive. I thought that deal worked out pretty well for us.”
Did the Vucevic trade signal a change of direction in Chicago in the pursuit of winning? Sure. Did the winning actually follow? Kind of. Would most Bulls fans undo the trade if it meant they could have Wagner and Howard on the team? Probably.
All in all, the Bulls took a risk when they traded for Vucevic two years ago, and while he’s been a solid player for them, it hasn’t quite worked out the way most fans would have hoped.
