Now that the summer slump is well established, it’s time to sift through the NBA rumors. It makes sense that the Lakers will keep looking for low-cost methods to improve the squad given that they have attempted to fill voids by acquiring overpriced scraps from other teams on a bargain contract (Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart were their notable additions).
Due to the Bulls’ inability to locate a trade partner for veteran center Nikola Vucevic, there is a lot of conjecture that Chicago may just buy him out, like both Portland and Washington did with Smart and Ayton.
Chicago has little motivation to do so, though. Even as a young player, Vucevic was never very quick, but he still averaged 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds and shot 40.2% from three-point range. He will turn 35 in October.
The Bulls don’t have a history of purchasing players, and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf still owns the team. For the Lakers, that is bad news.
“They don’t want to buy him out,” stated an NBA executive. “Over the course of his 40-year career, Jerry Reinsdorf has remained steadfast, and the White Sox (Reinsdorf also owns MLB’s South Side team in Chicago) are no exception.
the fact that he doesn’t compensate coaches or athletes for not playing or coaching for him.
Although there is a significant difference, there has been talk that the Bulls will buy out Vucevic if they are unable to secure a deal. If the team is unable to come to an agreement before the trade deadline, they may buy him out in February. That was reported this week by seasoned NBA insider Jake Fischer, who obviously did not predict that the Bulls would cut Vucevic this summer.
Vucevic has one year remaining on his $21 million contract.
Nikola Vucevic’s chances of joining the Lakers are slim.
Right now, it looks like the Lakers will start the 2025–26 season with an odd, at best, center rotation. Ayton is most likely going to start, followed by Jaxson Hayes. Given the Lakers’ construction, neither player contributes much defensively, which is a significant disadvantage.
It also explains why the Lakers, who are also a bad defensive center, would not part with a first-round selection for Vucevic. There’s a chance that the Lakers may finish up with Vucevic, but that likelihood is tiny, and would not occur until the winter, anyway.
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