Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic dismisses trade rumors and talks about his decline

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Don’t tell the center Nikola Vucevic he is in the final few holes of his career after turning 34 last week.

“I don’t think I’m on the back nine of my 18 holes at all (for a moment),” Vucevic said Monday before scoring 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the Bulls’ win over the Grizzlies. “I don’t feel like I’m going backwards or anything. People can say whatever they want, but I’m really just trying to prove to myself that I can still play at a high level.

“Like everyone else, I’ve had some ups and downs, but I feel like I still have a lot left in the tank. The way I play won’t really be affected by my athleticism. I think I can play for a long time.”

There is a resurgence in his playing that supports this statement. Last season it sometimes looked like Vucevic’s shot from long range failed. He was 38.8% from three-point range in the 28 games he played after coming to the Bulls from the Magic at the 2021 trade deadline. That dropped to 31.4% during the 2021-2022 season, before increasing slightly to 34.9% in 2022-2023. But last season’s 29.4% felt like a low point.

When he promised to improve in that area at the end of last season, it sounded like nothing more than player talk. But Vucevic went 4-for-7 from three-point range in his last three preseason games, then carried that momentum into the regular season, going 7-for-13 (53.8%) in the first three games before Monday.

While he says his shooting technique hasn’t changed, the mentality behind his shooting has.

“My problems are when I rush my shots and don’t stay in them,” he said. “This year it was about being more confident and just (trusting) all the work I put in.”

After Monday’s performance, he is now averaging 20.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

And he’s still a commodity. Despite being owed $20 million this season and $21.4 million next year, the market could heat up for him if he’s close to the All-Star caliber talent he was for the Magic.

Vucevic hasn’t felt the need to talk to the front office about his immediate future, but he’s heard the noise.

“In recent years we have not played well, we have not achieved our goals as a team, so change was inevitable,” Vucevic said. “I see and hear the rumors. People in my life talk to me about it, but I don’t get too involved. I suppose if something happened or became more serious, they would come to me, talk to me, but right now I don’t think about it.

Donovan’s personal Fail Mary

In the aftermath of the Bears’ loss to the Commanders on a Hail Mary, Bulls coach Billy Donovan was asked about his worst losses that still hurt to this day.

“As long as I’m doing it, I’ll have a lot,” Donovan said, laughing.

He then started replaying games from his college and NBA days before settling on one of the more iconic moments in college basketball history.

“Perhaps the most difficult, to be completely honest? The Duke (shot) with (Christian) Laettner in Philly,” Donovan said. “I was an assistant coach at Kentucky. That’s like a devastating shot to end the season.”

Laettner caught a pass from Grant Hill who traveled three-quarters of the length of the court and then hit a jumper on the horn for an overtime win that sent Duke to the Final Four.