Nikola Vučević has spent time with a number of franchises over the course of his 14-year NBA career.
Originally drafted in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Vučević was traded to the Orlando Magic during the summer after his rookie campaign. He remained in Florida for the most of the next nine years before being dealt to the Chicago Bulls in a midseason trade on March 25, 2021.
If rumors surrounding Vučević this offseason prove to be true, there is a chance the 34-year-old center could join his fourth team in a little over one decade in the league.
Vučević has ‘almost no doubt’ he will be returning to Bulls
That will not be the case, however, as Vučević confirmed in an interview with Basket USA that he plans to return to the Bulls for the 2025-26 season.
“A week ago…the Bulls GM [Marc Eversley], who had called me after all the rumors, confirmed that nothing was true and that everything we had discussed after the season still stood,” Vučević said. “Yes, I have almost no doubt [about returning to Chicago]. That’s the mindset I’m preparing with. After that, we’ll see—I don’t know what will happen.”
In the same interview, though, Vučević also expressed his desire to join a title contender, admitting it is much harder to do so in the United States than it is in Europe.
“I’d like to try to play for a team that has ambitions to win the NBA title,” Vučević said. “In Europe, it’s easier to join a big team, but in the NBA, it’s complicated because of the rules and trades.”
Unfortunately for Vučević, the Bulls are far from a championship-caliber team. The franchise has clinched an outright postseason berth just once since the 2017-18 season and more recently appeared in three straight NBA Play-In Tournaments.
Vučević, a veteran of two All-Star Games, has averaged 17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game across 972 career regular-season contests.
