4:37pm: The trade sending Vucevic to Chicago is official, according to a press release from the Magic.
“Anytime you trade a player like Nikola, it is a tough decision to make,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “‘Vooch’ will go down as one of the best players to ever wear a Magic uniform and we can’t thank him enough for all the contributions he made to the organization, both on and off the court.”
10:05am: The Magic are trading All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu to the Bulls, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links).
According to Wojnarowski, Orlando will receive Wendell Carter, Otto Porter, and a pair of future first-round picks in the deal. Those picks will be the Bulls’ own 2021 and 2023 first-rounders, Woj adds (via Twitter). Both will be top-four protected, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter links).
The agreement comes as a major surprise. While Vucevic has been mentioned in some trade rumors in the weeks leading up to the deadline, he had talked about being happy with his current situation, and there was a belief that the Magic were reluctant to move their lone All-Star and shift into full-fledged retooling mode. Wojnarowski (Twitter link) had reported earlier today that Orlando was still listening to offers for the big man, but would have to receive a substantial package to pull the trigger on a deal.
The Magic apparently believe the Bulls’ offer qualifies as substantial. In addition to the future first-round picks, which are the prized assets in the return, Orlando will also receive a former lottery pick in Carter who was highly regarded coming out of Duke and is still just 21 years old. Carter has been plagued by injury issues through his first three NBA seasons and his production hasn’t really increased since his rookie year, but he’s still viewed as a player with upside.
Orlando will also gain some longer-term salary relief in the trade. While Porter is earning more ($28.5MM) this season than any of the other three players involved in the swap, his contract will expire this summer. Vucevic is owed and Aminu are owed a combined $34MM+ next season, and Vucevic is under contract for one more year beyond that, so the Magic will have much more cap flexibility going forward.
The move also signals that Aaron Gordon is even more likely to be dealt today, with the Magic headed for a reset. The odds of the team moving Evan Fournier and/or Terrence Ross figure to increase as well. As Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets, Orlando will boost the odds of landing a top pick in the 2021 draft by trading away veterans — that lottery pick, combined with the return of Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz next season, could help accelerate the team’s rebuild.
The Bulls, meanwhile, weren’t among the teams listed as having significant interest in Vucevic in a report earlier this month, but decided to take a big swing and will add a second All-Star to a core headlined by Zach LaVine.
The team’s front office wanted to bring in a “productive, serious-minded veteran” to be a cornerstone in Chicago, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), and zeroed in on Vucevic, who has posted a career-high 24.5 PPG this season to go along with 11.8 RPG and 3.8 APG. His .406 3PT% is also a career-best mark.
Taking on Aminu’s multiyear contract will add some money to the Bulls’ cap in 2021, but the club was projected to have plenty of flexibility, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Vucevic’s contract is also relatively team-friendly — he’s making $26MM this season, but that number will decline to $24MM in 2021/22 and $22MM in ’22/23.
It will be interesting to see whether the Bulls have more up their sleeve before today’s deadline. The team has been taking calls to gauge Thaddeus Young‘s value, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link), and remains in the mix for Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
It will take more than just Lauri Markkanen to acquire Ball, tweets Johnson. New Orleans may want Chicago to take on an unwanted multiyear contract, such as Eric Bledsoe‘s.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wow!!!
Rumor
Evan Fournier to Celtics for cheap offer
Orlando really cleaned house.
That’s unexpected. But definitely good to see the Bulls trying again after a decade or so of rebuilding.
I cannot believe this, I’m so pumped
If you are a Bulls fan, will be so refreshing to see Vucevic and Aminu on the court instead of say Kornet or Gafford and Denzel Valentine. No comparison obviously.
Stay positive the Bulls got good management now I think ? We shall see
Whoa!! Didn’t expect THAT!
Very interesting I would of tried for Vucevic and Fournier instead.
Future 1st’s for Vucevic? Whoa, didn’t expect the Bulls to trade Carter, thought they were playing possum. Now, Markkannen acting relaxed makes some sense! Bulls want to score, who cares about D! Probably get them in the playoffs this season.
Didn’t see this coming as a return for the Bulls. Interesting.
I predict 4 big trades in final 4 hours
Stay here!
Where are the Knicks?
C’mon Magic he actually was good and like to be in Orl
What a pickup!!!! Certainly out of left field…
lets gooooo
Watch Wendell Carter get beat out by Khem Birch… which may be for starting… unless Bamba is named, but the HC likes Birch more, as I.
No mentions of protections on the firsts? Kind of key.
I was thinking the same thing. Carter Jr. doesn’t change life for Orlando. He’s also already injury prone and inconsistent.
Apparently those firsts have “top 4′ protection.
Great trade for the Bulls.
Picks will be around 16-20
Great move for the Bulls!! Let’s go!
This instantly makes the bulls better. Will Orlando finally play Bamba I wonder???? Or maybe they sign Richaun Holmes in the off season. I would have preferred Powell,Baynes, Stanley Johnson, McCaw and 2 picks for Vucevic but it is what it is.
WOW! New front office not messin around, love it!
Definitely a very shrewd move by the magic.
Allows Bamba to get more minutes.
Frees up cap Space.
And gives them a ton of flexibility for the future
Carter is a Center.
Carter is really a 4, but not a 4 in the modern NBA as he can’t stretch the floor but he’s too small to compete against legit 5s. I believe Orlando will also move Gordon and go with a 90’s style front court of Mamba and Carter.
That sounds awful. lol
Carter will have Bamba, Birch, Isaac, Okeke, Gordon (so far) to contend with in Orlando. I do not see Carter starting at PF over Isaac next season. Or Birch or Okeke. He could back them up nicely though, and play some small ball C. Developing his 3 and working on his lateral quickness will make a ton of difference on his future. He needs more spring training. Bagley has similar trends, but worse on defense.
Agree. Carter is too short to compete against the really big talented centers such as Embiid, Jokic, Vucevic, etc and as you say isn’t the modern 4 type either. Carter is in between. Carter is not a bad player by any means but really just another rotation player.
C’mon, the Celtics could’ve beaten that offer
Danny Ainge is cheap and likes to hoard his draft picks.
I really like this deal for both sides.
magic is now trading Gordon today. Bulls threw all their chips in and Magic threw in a rebuild for next year.
Bulls still have Thad Young, Markkanen, Satoransky, and pretty much everything on their roster other than LaVine & Williams to use as “chips”.
Surprised. Unexpected. The risk for the Bulls is that Vucevic and Aminu will both be 31 years old by the beginning of next season. On the other hand, LaVine is in the prime of his career right now. So give LaVine some talented players to play with now.
Like the trade the more that I think about it. Always a big risk for the Bulls to give up their future. But Vucevic can really play. So can Aminu. Hope Aminu is recovering well from his injury.
Bulls are finally trying to be relevant again
I thought I’d never hear that
He was the player the Knicks could’ve used. Robinson, Quickley or Toppin and the Dallas pick this coming draft would’ve gotten it done. Knicks could’ve had Vucevic, Randle, Barrett going into next year as the core with cap room for a max.
Knicks fans need to be patient. that would be way to much for them to give up for 1 player.
He wouldn’t have worked well with Thibs. His D isn’t good enough
That part I’d agree with, however not many would work out well with Thibs. Thibs is great for getting a team ‘good,’ not sure he’s next level coaching, though. Having your starters in the game up by 19 with 3 minutes left…he’s going to kill them if history has taught anyone anything other than Thibs.
Magic sold Vucevic so LOW, sheesh
True. Just two middle to late 1st round picks and Carter who is just an average type of player.
Good trade for Bulls. Carter has hit his ceiling imho, and Bulls needed more ball movement at C. Vucevich gives them one of the better passing centers in the NBA. I hope they are not done, they still need a pg.
Aminu when healthy can really play also. Sure hope that Aminu can get back to where he was a couple of years ago. Aminu looks so well rounded. Can shoot it from deep, post, handles the ball well for a bigger guy, great passer, excellent defender, has size.
Agree with you. Carter will always be an undersized center. Not Carter’s fault. Will be exciting to see LaVine, Vucevic, Aminu, Young, Markkanen, Satoransky, Temple, Patrick Williams together. The Bulls went from being a young rebuilding team to a veteran team that could be very competitive right now.
Wish the Bulls could dump more of their stiffs on Orlando and get Ross and Gordon.
Bulls defense will remain poor with Lauri, Lavine and now Vuc as starters. Will be able to score heaps but not stop anyone. Poor Patrick Williams will have to cover everybody. Magic will be okay with Carter, Bamba, Fultz, Isaac, and Ross if he doesn’t get traded as starters. Better defensively that’s for sure.
From a cap perspective, it’s a shame that Porter’s salary is just a few thousand dollars short of being enough to match the salaries of Aminu & Vucevic. They’ll miss out on creating a trade exception worth Carter’s salary.
Bulls want to make the playoffs, I guess.
Head scratcher for both teams, considering this move will only make Chicago a little bit better, but it’ll make Orlando a lot worse.
It’s almost like Chicago and Orlando just traded places… Chicago gets to be cannon fodder in the first round now, Orlando gets to be one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Still, Orlando came out ahead in this deal. The demand for aging back to the basket centers has never been lower.
Vucevic shoots 40 percent from 3. He isn’t a “back to the basket” center at all.
He takes almost 7 three-pointers a game.
Listen, he’s got range, but he ain’t no stretch 5.
Someone who shoots 40 percent from three and shoots 7 a game isn’t a “back to the basket center”. Come on. He is 36th in three point attempts a game.
link to teamrankings.com
In fact, he takes more threes a game than any center in the NBA.
Cool. Tell me, is he a face up threat in your opinion?
Tell me first if you have a really hard time admitting when you’re wrong.
I don’t think you can call Vucevic a face-up threat, and he definitely isn’t a stretch 5. But he’s great in the post (2nd highest in points per possession this season posted up), and he posts up more than most centers in the league. You can see it all in black and white right here: link to nba.com
So, NO, Curtis, I’m not wrong. Not even a little bit. Vucevic is a very talented post player who is also a good shooter. Is he exclusively a back to the basket guy? No. But that’s where he thrives. As a catch and shoot threat he’s middling at best.
Now, you tell me: Is he a face up threat? Because, if not, what’s the proper descriptor for an elite post scorer with range?
Oh, and in just in case you don’t both to check, Vucevic has posted up 247 times this season, which is right after Jokic (2nd most post-ups) and Embid (most). But sure, he’s not a back to the basket guy…
But I’m sure you’d call Jokic a stretch 5. Listen in the NBA there is no stretch 5cause then they are called Backup centers. It’s why Mavs don’t get KP. TheNBA is not Europe. No wants a a starting center who plays outside. It’s why in the NBA they go small. Vucevic is an indside out dude guy. Hess center that can play outside. But he also can play inside and rebound. It’s why he’s an allstar. By the way he learned to play inside more. He came into league as more a Euro style center. The guy knows how to play outside. Not disagreeing with you. You are both right imo. He’s a skilled big who can play outside. Not all centers can do that. Playing outside is not just about shooting.
Boy, you sure get worked up when you’re wrong.
You can’t be the center who shoots the most three’s in the NBA and be a “back to the basket center”
Your original point was he is an “aging back to the basket center”
He isn’t. You worded things poorly. Let it go.
Curtis, y0ur original statement was “He isn’t a ‘back to the basket’ center at all.” That’s dumb. The guy posts up an average of 5.6 times a game.
He also spots up as a shooter 4.9 times a game. While I admit he’s a fine shooter, I don’t think spotting up less than you post up means you are not a back to the basket center “at all.”
You too seem to get worked up when you’re wrong.
So Curtis posts the quality info that Vu takes the most 3’s by any C at a 40% clip
And
Your rebuttal is
But he’s great in the post (2nd highest in points per possession this season posted up), and he posts up more than most centers in the league. You can see it all in black and white right here:
Point to Mr Rowe
If you look at the advanced stats on NBA.com you’ll see that the guy does a good amount of shooting, but slightly more posting up.
You’ll also see that, in terms of points per possession, Vucevic is averaging 1.05 pts in post ups and 0.9 in spot ups. That’s a HUGE discrepancy. I’d much, much MUCH rather have Vucevic post up than spot up.
Nice goal post moving.
Now its whether you want him to post up or spot up, when before you didn’t even know he shot threes.
Let it go man, You’re making it worse.
He posts up more than he spots up, he scores more points on post possessions, he’s one of the leading post scores in the NBA, but it’s wrong to call him a back to the basket center?
Math is hard huh? LOL
Yes, it’s wrong Jason, because he takes the most threes of any center in the NBA.
You continue to move the goalposts. You said “the demand for aging back to the basket centers has never been lower” You didn’t know he leads the NBA in three-point attempts by a center or you wouldn’t have said that. Unless you think there is no demand for centers who shoot threes.
You have to work on your ego man. We all say dumb things sometimes.
I am going to go on to other things. Later Jason.
My concern is that the stretch-5 term implies Vuc typically stands in the corner, which he does not. He is just worthy to draw the play up to do so.
The idea started out as stretch-4, a shooting big, probably floating, not doing much really, like a PF but less helpful to the 5, but that went away bc teams now want a once-3-now-4.
Markkanon is an I-had-a-plan-once-4.
I guess he never did go to NOLA… good, that would have required even more hyphens.
For Vuc maybe a stat-stuffer-because-why-not-5…
Okay no help judging here.
Right. Vucevic can shoot 3s, make the 18 footers all day, even though is is big and husky is smooth with ball, has a good left hand, passes well, and beat up on smaller centers down low.
YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Bulls making a contender and MAY have a decent amount of $ in the offseason to add another piece.
This is so welcome in Chicago right now LOL
YAS
Bulls making a contender and MAY have a decent amount of $ in the offseason to add another piece.
This is so welcome in Chicago right now LOL
Happy the bulls is pushing hard to get into playoffs by making this big trade. However this could set them back in the near future. because they give up their first round pick and while Nikola vucevic is an doubled doubled big man who can the space the floor. He is injured prone.
This is huge for the Bulls. I won’t overlook Aminu either. He’s overpaid sure but he’s the kinda defensive player they need now with Lavine and Vuc taking most the shots, I assume
Agree with you. Aminu can really play if he can be back to where he was two years ago health wise. Don’t think Aminu is overpaid $10 million for this season and the same for next season. Sure hope that Aminu is on the rebound health wise.
This is huge for the Bulls. Sure didn’t see it coming.
I like Vuc a lot. Bulls aren’t contenders but they have a very solid team now.
Literally about to go in for surgery, and I’m as shocked as can be by this. Feel like this isnt enough at all. And also I would say others should be involved in that scenario
I’m looking at several others that should have been able to make a better deal than this, and I’m actually kind of baffled, but I guess I did call that there would be a weird move like this today
HOLY
Good for him. Finally with a competent organization (weird saying it for the bulls lol)
Maybe the Bulls will go get Bledsoe after this great trade!
The Bulls are shy a PG and even though Bledsoe isn’t having a great year he would help this team…
This is major for Bulls. Showed big ones doing it. This is for LaVine and making a playoff run now. I always liked Carter think he will do better away from Chicago. And it’s a mistake moving Markkanen while we’re at it. Bulls got better now and for future. They still need a real PG to step up to contender. But this is a major step in that direction. If they can add Ball to Markkanen, Vucevic, Williams, LaVine that’s a contender. Getting Vucevic means their window starts now cause he is 30. So they got I mean got to get a traditional PG by next yr. Or get two decent ones and draft one next yr.
And the Heat just got Oladipo for Olynyk and Bradley.
And the Bulls just added Theis from Celtics. This is good depth.
Free Agent Point Guards next yr …….. For Bulls
Elfrid Payton – FA
Lonzo Ball – RFA
Kriss Dunn – PO
Mike Conley . FA
Spencer Dinwiddie – PO
Kyle Lowry – FA
Nico Mannion – RFA
Devonte Graham – RFA
Linsanity – FA
link to spotrac.com
So it’s overpay Ball or maybe see how much One of the older guys have left in the tank if they go the FA route. Wonder if they’d package Markkanen with White or even Williams and if so, what two of them or perhaps all three would return in a trade for a PG. I can’t imagine a trade for a legit PG gets done otherwise.
I love this move as a Bulls fan.