Bulls' Nikola Vucevic mourns DeMar DeRozan's departure in the summer

Former two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic has seen better days than his last two years with the Chicago Bulls.

The 6-foot-10 big man delivered disappointing seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 for two non-playoff teams despite putting up solid stats. In an average of 79 regular-season games over the past two years, he averaged 17.8 points on .501/.323/.829 shooting percentages, 10.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Vucevic's lackluster three-point shooting, combined with his poor defense and desire for the ball (often to the detriment of his team's offense) have made him far less effective than he was during his halcyon days with the Orlando Magic.

Chicago's leadership was remarkably stubborn, essentially doing very little to improve the team's mediocre results on the court, despite the club fielding a fairly experienced core with Vucevic, All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan, shooting guard Zach LaVine, guard Alex Caruso and young point guard Coby White.

The Bulls finished 41-41 in 2022-23 and 39-43 in 2023-24, finishing 9th in the Eastern Conference both times. Without depth in the frontcourt or defense or sufficient 3-point shooting, Chicago failed to advance past the play-in tournament in either year.

Finally, DeRozan had enough.

After the Bulls traded 30-year-old Caruso, their best defender, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for 21-year-old point guard Josh Giddey (albeit with no draft equity), a poor defender, one thing was clear: Chicago had to rebuild, albeit reluctantly.

DeRozan left the club as a free agent this summer and signed a three-year, $73.9 million contract with the Sacramento Kings as part of a sign-and-trade transaction.

Read more: Can DeMar DeRozan finally win a championship after signing with the Kings?

In a new interview with basketball insider Marc Stein on his Substack, Vucevic explained how the team would adjust to DeRozan's absence in the 2024-25 season.

“It's definitely going to be a little bit of an adjustment because we all know what he brought to us on the court. But I think also his presence in general. DeMar was very well-liked in the locker room and was obviously very respected … kind of the guy that everyone gravitated to and was always the storyteller of all these veteran stories and all these things, and the young guys really gravitated towards that.”

DeRozan and Vucevic both played alongside each other in college for the USC Trojans during the 2008-09 college season. DeRozan declared for the 2009 NBA Draft. He was selected ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors.

Vucevic remained in college until the 2011 NBA Draft. He was drafted No. 16 by the Philadelphia 76ers. Vucevic, who was signed by the Bulls at the 2020-2021 trade deadline, had played a role in recruiting DeRozan, who was set to sign with the Bulls as a free agent in the summer of 2021.

“For me, of course, it was also the case that we had our relationship since college, but it was interesting. We were kids then and both 18. DeMar was maybe 19, but whatever, then and now we don't have a family… we're both adults, with families, with kids, with responsibilities,” Vucevic recalled. “So it was very special for me to play alongside him those three years. I wish we had more success together on the team, but what I definitely appreciate is the relationship we were able to build and all the things we were able to share with each other off the court.”

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