Bulls' Nikola Vucevic: 'Never Will I Ever Have Any Bad Feelings Toward' Magic

Nikola Vucevic will face his former team on Friday but doesn't hold any ill will.

"Yeah, it wasn't a situation where they traded me out of nowhere," Vucevic said when discussing the trade that sent him from the Orlando Magic to the Chicago Bulls last season, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. "It was something that we discussed a lot and it was mutually agreed. It wasn't a situation where they told me I wasn’t going to get traded, and then I get traded."

Vucevic also said, "never will I ever have any bad feelings toward Orlando. It will always be positive."

The two-time All-Star is part of a formidable core with the Bulls alongside Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, among others.

Chicago acquired Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlando last season in a trade that sent Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round picks to the Magic. It was a costly deal for the Bulls, but they also have a double-double threat anchoring their interior offense and defense.

Chicago is 12-7 on the season and tied for second in the Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat. Anything short of a playoff appearance—and perhaps a run to the second round or beyond—would be considered a disappointment.