When the Chicago Bulls made a splash at the 2021 NBA trade deadline, acquiring big man Nikola Vucevic, they were hoping to usher in a new era of Bulls basketball. And while they accomplished that goal, the era wasn’t nearly as prosperous as they may have hoped. They made the playoffs in 2022, but this past season, they were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.
Now, as the offseason gets underway, Vucevic will be an unrestricted free agent. Chicago could potentially bring him back, but it could be beneficial for the Vucevic experiment to end. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic believes it’s for the best “for both sides.”
If the Bulls do decide to part ways with Vucevic, they would need to find a replacement center. With their cap space situation in mind (spoiler alert, the Bulls can’t sign anything close to a max contract), here are some potential centers Chicago could target in free agency this summer to replace Vucevic if the two sides part ways.
Few of these options would be able to replace the star power or production of Vucevic, but they could help shore up Chicago’s center depth should he depart this offseason.