The Chicago Bulls find themselves right back where they started, stuck in the middle of the Eastern Conference with the February 5 trade deadline coming up. At 24-26, the team is hovering just inside the Play-In spots, and for a roster that has been through this exact cycle multiple times, the frustration is starting to boil over. Nobody feels that more than the man carrying the heaviest offensive load in the locker room.
Nikola Vučević has been one of the most reliable big men in the league for over a decade, and this season has been no different. In 48 games, the 35-year-old is averaging 16.9 points and 9 rebounds, while shooting 50.5 percent from beyond the arc.
What Did Nikola Vučević Say About the Chicago Bulls?
Vučević’s January stretch was especially impressive; he averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists across the month, including a season-high 35-point game against the Utah Jazz. But all of that production hasn’t translated into the one thing Vučević actually wants: a real shot at the playoffs.
He said to the Chicago Sun Times, “You know it’s not fun when you’re in the same position year after year, and especially when you can’t get out of that play-in, you get stuck behind Miami every time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
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He said this after the Bulls’ brutal loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, and they hit differently than anything he’s said all season. The veteran has spent years quietly letting the organization handle things behind the scenes, rarely igniting a fire in the media.
But it looks like things changed on Sunday night, and the frustration he laid bare is now fueling a very real conversation about whether his time in Chicago is coming to an end.
Nikola Vučević says it’s not fun being in the play-in every year
“You know it’s not fun when you’re in the same position year after year, and especially when you can’t get out of that play-in, you get stuck behind Miami every time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
(Via @JCowleyHoops… pic.twitter.com/iJmbUdFqzj
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 2, 2026
The trade talk around Vučević isn’t new; he’s been at the center of deadline rumors for years now. But this time, the circumstances are different. He’s in the final year of his three-year, $60 million contract, set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.
That expiring salary, worth $21.5 million, is what finally makes him a realistic target for contending teams. ESPN’s Bobby Marks has flagged him as the Bulls’ key trade chip to watch heading into the deadline.
The catch? The market hasn’t exactly been kind. The Bulls reportedly pitched a Vučević-for-Anfernee-Simons swap to the Boston Celtics earlier this season, but Boston turned them down flat. Multiple sources have indicated that finding a willing trade partner willing to give up real assets remains an uphill battle, largely because it is difficult to absorb a $21.5 million salary mid-season.
With that said, Vučević might finish the season right where he started, in Chicago, watching the Play-In from the same uncomfortable seat.
