Written by Shams Charania, Darnell Mayberry, and John Hollinger
Chicago Bulls quarterback Nikola Vucevic has agreed to a contract extension, the franchise announced Wednesday. League sources said it was for three years and $60 million the athlete. Here’s what you need to know:
- Vučević, 32, will be under contract until the 2025-26 season. He appeared in all 82 games last season and averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 33.5 minutes.
- Vucevic arrived in Chicago (along with Al-Farouq Aminu) in 2021 following a trade to Orlando for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and two first-round picks.
- The Bulls finished 40-42 last season, 10th in the Eastern Conference.
the athleteInstant Analysis:
Why did the bulls make this deal?
The Bulls have said all along that they want to re-sign Vučević, bringing him back to a three-year, $60 million deal that makes their biggest fund this season.
With that deal out of the way, the Bulls can focus on finding a replacement for starting point guard Lonzo Ball, who will miss the 2023-24 season after knee surgery. The Bulls management has also said it will target shooting in free agency. – Mayberry
Understanding the extension
Vučević’s contract extension at first looks like a dismal situation as the Bulls get involved in everything they do, and in the end that may be all that proves it.
However, I will refrain from backing out on this particular contract until I see the totality of what Chicago will do this summer and how much is guaranteed from the Vučević deal, which is rarely reported at the start of the signing leak.
The specific reason I’m playing wait and see here is a phenomenon known as the bird rights trap, which I wrote about extensively a couple of years ago and will summarize here:
A bird’s rights trap is when a team is incentivized to overpay its free agent with bird’s rights because it would be impossible to sign a replacement of similar quality if that player left. It’s especially noteworthy with teams in the exact Chicago location: far enough from the tax threshold that they can certainly beat Oblivion under it, but without the possibility of enough cover space if the player in question leaves.
In the case of Vucević, the Bulls had to relinquish the rights to Vucević, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Derrick Jones Jr. In an uncertain central market, other realistic alternatives were Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, and Mason Plumlee.
Another reason to sign this extension now, rather than wait for free agency and see if Vooch can be kept for less, is that Vučević can be traded immediately on an extension, but not as a free agent. (Also, they won’t be penalizing a draft pick for leaking this on June 28th, but hey, anachronistic.)
Unlike most extensions, Vucevic’s contract can trade in July because his salary didn’t increase by more than five percent in the extension (in fact, it will almost certainly decrease in 2023-24, based on reported contract dollars), and the extension is for no more than Three years. Thus, Chicago has not lost any of its options for a promotion in the commercial market should one become available, and it can use Vooch’s estimated $18 million in 2023-24 as a salary match.
By keeping Vučević’s contract on their books, the Bulls are filling a short-term position, but also filling in a volume of salary offsetting that may be needed for any future moves. That is if Plan A works and they still try to win. Alternatively, if you go for Plan B – and I still doubt it will turn out that way in the end – Vooch’s contract isn’t big enough to hurt them rebuilding, especially if the last year isn’t fully guaranteed.
So let’s hold our fire here while the rest of the bulls play. It’s easy to see the raw numbers as a total overpay—my $BORD formula had Vučević worth about half that amount—but the logic of the cap set here suggests a wait-and-see approach. – Hollinger
what are they saying
“During his time in Chicago, Nikola proved to be an outstanding player on and off the court,” Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnicovas said in a statement. “He has produced at an elite level since we acquired him and will remain an integral part of our organization moving forward.
“Nikola’s willingness to do whatever is required of him to help us win, while also being a well-established veteran leader for our group, makes him a valuable component of our organization’s culture. He’s a skilled professional and a great teammate, who plays a huge part in making us an attractive destination for other players. We’re excited for him to continue. To be part of our journey.”
Fuccivy said he was “excited to continue my journey as a Chicago Bull”.
“Since my arrival in Chicago, everyone in the organization has been incredibly welcoming to me and my family,” he said in a statement. “I am more excited than ever to achieve our common goals as a team. I want to thank the Reinsdorf family and Arturas for their faith in me. I also want to thank the Bulls fans for the continued support, you guys are the best part of playing Chicago. We will work harder than ever He went on to achieve success in the city of Chicago.”
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(Photo: Raj Mehta/USA Today)