For most of the season, Chicago Bulls fans have wondered whether the team would acquire some help for All-Star guard Zach LaVine. Today, that help has come in the form of former Orlando Magic All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.
To obtain Vucevic’s services, the Bulls parted with Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round picks (the team also picked up veteran combo forward Al-Farouq Aminu in the trade, who should help bolster the defense), but given what Vucevic brings to the Bulls as a secondary star next to LaVine supersedes whatever potential Carter may possess, Porter’s contracts, and those picks that will likely fall out of the top 10.
The Bulls still need to add more to become a solid playoff team — they currently sit at 10th in the Eastern Conference, which would get them in thanks to the NBA expanding the postseason field from 16 to 20 — but this is a good start.
With Nikola Vucevic now in Chicago, the Bulls have a legit secondary star.
As the Magic’s centerpiece star, Vucevic struggled to push the franchise past “Fringe Eastern Conference Playoff Team” status while being the top scoring option for some bad offensive teams, though the disjointed roster construction shoulders as much blame for that as Vucevic does. In Chicago, the burden won’t be as heavy.
LaVine will remain the Bulls’ primary catalyst on offense, but Vucevic’s prowess as a shooter — he’s shooting 40.6 percent from 3-point range on over six attempts per game, all of which are of the catch-and-shoot variety — should make LaVine even more dangerous out of the pick and roll (1.02 points per possession, 82nd percentile).
It wouldn’t take much imagination to see how Vucevic and LaVine would complement each other on offense. Take this play in the video below: if Michael Carter-Williams can generate this sort of look for Vucevic, then it should be easy money for LaVine.
Also, when LaVine picks up steam on the break and defenses have to converge on him, Vucevic will get a lot of looks just like this one:
Vucevic brings good value as a passer, too, without the turnovers (82nd percentile in assist rate, 85th percentile in turnover rate). He can leverage his magnetic pull as a shooter and as a penetrator to create good looks for his teammates, as you’ll see here:
The attention he commands will also open up dribble handoffs, like this one:
That combination of shooting and passing should boost a Bulls offense that has already looked far more competent and pleasing to the eye under head coach Billy Donovan. It’s not a guarantee, but there are plenty of teams that would take having two of the best offensive players in the league (LaVine ranks in the 97th percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus/Minus, Vucevic ranks in the 93rd).
The Chicago Bulls still have a ways to go before becoming a solid playoff team
Now, bringing Vucevic comes with his share of concerns. His PPP stats posting up (40th percentile), as the roll man (52nd percentile), and on spot-ups (52nd percentile) all scream “meh” (so do his shooting rates at the rim, likely due to his lack of athleticism) and while his defense isn’t terrible if you go by the individual plus/minus metrics (0.1 Defensive EPM and Defensive Box Plus/Minus), the fact that Orlando’s D deteriorated by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when he was in the lineup doesn’t speak well to his ability to prop up underwhelming defenses.
Yes, on/off numbers are as much about your teammates (and the scheme) as they are individual performances, and the Bulls have improved enough on that end of the floor — 14th in defensive rating — to where this probably won’t matter, but it’s still something worth worrying about.
That said, those concerns are small compared to the positives the talented big man brings to the team. Sure, this doesn’t make them instant championship contenders and yes, they still need a legitimate point guard to complete the ensemble, but by bringing Vucevic in, the Bulls have at least made the 2020-21 outfit look better than it did going in.