Nikola Vucevic's name has been swirling around the NBA trade rumor mill for at least a calendar year, but Chicago Bulls Executive VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas chose not to pull the trigger (again) on a deal to move his starting center this offseason. That was a divisive option to take, but based on Vucevic's hot start in the Bulls' regular-season opener against the Detroit Pistons, Karnisovas may have been right.
This year is Vucevic's 15th in the NBA. He'll turn 35 on Oct. 24. Barring injury, he'll bypass the 1,000 career games played mark before the calendar flips to 2026.