It's been three years now that the Bulls franchise has looked like a huge mess. The Illinois franchise seemed to have put the right pieces together with DeMar DeRozan And Nikola Vucevic to support Zach LaVine. Other choice elements like Lonzo Ball or Alex Caruso completed the puzzle. But the results were not there and despite the patience of the management, it had no other choice than to conclude this adventure with a statement of failure and decide to start again on a new project.
Asked about the subject, Nikola Vucevic felt that Lonzo Ball's repeated knee injuries have completely ruined the team's ambitions, particularly in terms of the balance that the point guard brought compared to the other forces present in the team.
“Since Lonzo Ball's injury, we have not been able to get the results we were hoping for. It has disrupted us a lot.”, he lamented. “When he was playing, we were leading the East for a while, which maybe wasn't realistic, even though we were playing well, but with him, we could have fought for third or sixth place (…). The rest of the players were more focused on scoring, whether it was LaVine, DeRozan or me. He brought us all together, he sped up the game, he played a big role on defense, guarding the best players with Caruso… Even though his stats weren't impressive, he meant a lot to us.”
Making his children's eyes shine, his greatest reward
Inevitably, the end of last season ended up sounding the death knell for this “DeRozan-LaVine-Vucevic era”, promising on paper, but which was never able to raise Chicago to the level of the expectations placed on this trio. Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan have therefore left the ship, and Chicago is preparing to make a new start. Nikola Vucevic, for his part, will focus on keeping his head high.
“We tried with young players, then we had a lot of injuries. The trade rumors also affected us, preventing us from getting the results we thought we could achieve. But when the results don't follow, changes don't take long to come. DeRozan left, Caruso left, the team got younger and wanted to go in a different direction. We'll see how the season goes, and decisions will be made from there.”
Even though he too has been the target of the wrath of Bulls fans from time to time, Nikola Vucevic will focus on giving the best of himself within this “new” Chicago team, where players like Josh Giddey and Chris Duarte are set to emerge.
Already 13 seasons in the NBA
At 33, the Montenegrin pivot is also looking ahead to the end of his career and the two years he has left at the Bulls to try to finish this adventure well within one of the most prestigious franchises in the history of the league. And if the results are not there, Evan Fournier's buddy will seek his motivation in the eyes of his children before bowing out, ideally within four years.
“I realize I've been in the NBA for 13 years and the end is not far away. I don't think I'll play another 13 years, but I have two more years with Chicago and I'd like to play two more years after that.”he continued. “I think I can play at a high level until then, and then I'll see. I don't think about it much right now. I feel very good. I like the game, and my sons are becoming a bigger motivation. They are a little older now and aware of what I do. They come to practices and games… I would like them to remember that I played basketball at a high level.”
| Nikola Vucevic | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | PHL | 51 | 16 | 45.0 | 37.5 | 52.9 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 5.6 |
| 2012-13 | ENT | 77 | 33 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 68.3 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 11.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 13.1 |
| 2013-14 | ENT | 57 | 32 | 50.7 | 0.0 | 76.6 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 11.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 14.2 |
| 2014-15 | ENT | 74 | 34 | 52.3 | 33.3 | 75.2 | 3.2 | 7.7 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 19.3 |
| 2015-16 | ENT | 65 | 31 | 51.0 | 22.2 | 75.3 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 18.2 |
| 2016-17 | ENT | 75 | 29 | 46.8 | 30.7 | 66.9 | 2.4 | 8.0 | 10.4 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 14.6 |
| 2017-18 | ENT | 57 | 30 | 47.5 | 31.4 | 81.9 | 1.8 | 7.4 | 9.2 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 16.5 |
| 2018-19 | ENT | 80 | 31 | 51.8 | 36.4 | 78.9 | 2.8 | 9.2 | 12.0 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 20.8 |
| 2019-20 | ENT | 62 | 32 | 47.7 | 33.9 | 78.4 | 2.3 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 19.6 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 70 | 34 | 47.7 | 40.0 | 84.0 | 2.1 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 23.4 |
| 2020-21 * | ENT | 44 | 34 | 48.0 | 40.6 | 82.7 | 2.0 | 9.8 | 11.8 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 24.6 |
| 2020-21 * | CHI | 26 | 33 | 47.1 | 38.8 | 87.0 | 2.3 | 9.3 | 11.5 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 21.5 |
| 2021-22 | CHI | 73 | 33 | 47.3 | 31.4 | 76.0 | 2.0 | 9.1 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 17.6 |
| 2022-23 | CHI | 82 | 34 | 52.0 | 34.9 | 83.5 | 1.9 | 9.1 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 17.7 |
| 2023-24 | CHI | 76 | 34 | 48.4 | 29.4 | 82.2 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 18.0 |
| Total | 899 | 31 | 49.5 | 34.1 | 76.8 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 17.1 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
