Ask Nikola Vucevic to rebound, he’ll do it.
Need him to score? No problem. Inside, outside, just tell him.
Pass, set a screen, heck, he’ll even block shots when the mood strikes him, evident by the 15 blocks he’s had in January so far.
What Vucevic won’t do is play general manager.
It’s quite the next week for Vucevic and his Bulls teammates. Starting with Monday’s 129-118 loss to the Lakers, the Bulls play five games in seven days thanks to the postponed Jan. 8 game, and do so all leading up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Not only a gauntlet that will test the roster physically but could be the final pitch to the front office to leave the roster as is or move some pieces.
While Vucevic has lived in uncertainty the past few seasons, the free agent to be would like to see executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas let it ride and see what this group can do when it’s whole even with seven potential free agents on it.
“As far as the deadline, there’s always talks, always things that could happen, and this is a unique year because of the contract situation for a lot of guys, but I do like this group,” Vucevic said. “I enjoy being around these guys. It’s a great group that really wants to be there for each other and play good ball. There are a lot of guys that have a chip on their shoulders and want to prove people wrong because we’ve been doubted. I would like to see what we can do and where we can go this year, but the front office has to make decisions and we all understand that.”
Vucevic is front and center in those pending decisions. The center, along with Coby White, Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter, as well as the rookie contract for Dalen Terry, can all walk in July. There has been a lot of buzz around White since the beginning of the season, and a few whispers about Vucevic, but as of Monday all was quiet around the Bulls (23-23), and really the entire league.
Not a surprise as the league’s annual poker game doesn’t usually heat up until a few days before the deadline.
“From (Karnisovas) right now as it relates to real significant movement, it’s been pretty slow,” coach Billy Donovan said after having a talk with the front office earlier in the day. “There’s nothing that’s really transpired. When you get to this point you’ve always got to have partners in this thing. I think Arturas and (general manager) Marc (Eversley), the front office, are going to make decisions that are long-term good things for the organization. He mentioned to me (Monday) that there is just not a lot going on.”
Contrary to on the court where the Bulls have a lot going on, and that started with trying to slow down LeBron James and Luka Doncic. A mission they failed on both fronts as Doncic cooked them all night with 46 points on eight three pointers and James chipped in 24. Not exactly what the gameplan called for.
“Obviously they shot it well,” Donovan said. “Doncic has seen everything. You have to give (Doncic) different coverages. We tried to trap him more in the second half.”
With some success, but not enough as the loss not only ended a four-game winning streak but was the latest reminder of the Bulls being the have-nots when it comes to a Doncic and superstar talent.
“We tried a lot of different things and it seemed like he was a step ahead the whole night,” White added. “We did a lot of good things, shot the ball really well. It just so happened that they got a guy named Luka that had 46 points.”