The Los Angeles Lakers may have an alternative trade option in their sights if they choose to pass on Zach LaVine’s massive contract. As it stands with the 2024-25 NBA season looming, one of the options might be on the Chicago Bulls.
According to Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus, the Lakers could show interest in Nikola Vučević. At 33 years old, the Montenegrin center has two years remaining on a three-year, $60 million deal, which is considerably more manageable than LaVine’s $137 million owed over the next three seasons.
Despite limited trade buzz surrounding both Vučević and LaVine, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the Lakers might view Vučević as an opportunity to bolster their frontcourt size and shooting without parting with their two future first-round picks.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
In terms of matching salaries, the Lakers could potentially package expiring contracts such as D’Angelo Russell, alongside either Christian Wood or Cam Reddish, to meet Vučević’s $20 million cap hit for the current season.
Vučević’s Fit Next to Anthony Davis
Although Vučević may not fit the mold of the bruising big man new Lakers head coach JJ Redick reportedly favors, he offers spacing and the ability to slide Anthony Davis back to his preferred power forward position.
Vučević’s three-point shooting took a dip last season, hitting just 29.4% from beyond the arc—his lowest since the 2015-16 campaign. However, he recently told NBA insider Marc Stein that he has been working extensively with former Phoenix Suns assistant coach Nenad Trajković to refine his outside shot. Vučević’s shooting touch was on display earlier in his career, as he knocked down 40% of his three-pointers in his final season in Orlando and 38.8% during his first year in Chicago.
“I worked on it a lot over the summer, trying to see if there was something as far as my mechanics that I didn’t do well, or what was going on from that standpoint,” Vučević shared with Stein. “I think there’s some things that I could have done better, so I worked on it, a lot of reps as always. I’m sure at some point last year I was also overthinking shots and so, shots that I would normally make, when you start thinking too much you start missing those as well.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Despite the struggles from deep, Vučević still managed to post solid numbers, averaging 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. His summer shooting adjustments, he hopes, will pay dividends this season. “It’s a big thing, obviously, because nowadays as a big man, if you can step out and shoot 3s at a good percentage, it changes everything for you and the team and everybody. So it’s definitely something I want to make sure I improve.”
Lakers Want to Add Size at Center
Redick has made it clear that he wants to add a physical presence to the Lakers’ roster, someone who can bang with the best big men in the Western Conference and free up Davis to play his preferred role.
“We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man,” Redick said during an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “You look at the Western Conference right now—whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis—you’re going to need a lot of size.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
While Vučević may not fit the bill as a traditional bruiser, the 6-foot-10, 260-pound center has held his own against the league’s top big men, including two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. If the Lakers are serious about adding size without sacrificing future assets, Nikola Vučević might just be the low-key move that could pay off in a big way for their title aspirations.
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