Bulls Rumors: CHI Eyeing Nikola Vučević Contract That 'Won't Make Their Fans Vomit'

The Chicago Bulls' front office is trying to accomplish two coinciding tasks this offseason: Bring back big man Nikola Vučević and don't make their team's fans sick about it in the process.

"I've heard they're hoping to get Vučević back at a deal that won't make their fans vomit," ESPN's Zach Lowe said on his podcast (1:00:25 mark). "Like three [years] for $55 [million], three for 60, three for 65."

Vučević is something of a tricky situation for Chicago.

On the one hand, he is a solid frontcourt player who is a threat to notch a double-double every time he steps on the court all while stretching the floor as a matchup problem. The two-time All-Star averaged 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from deep this past season.

However, he will also be 33 years old throughout the 2023-24 campaign and would represent more of the same for a franchise that seems to be stuck in neutral.

Chicago looked like a potential contender at times during the 2021-22 season but lost in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks and then lost to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament in 2022-23.

Lonzo Ball's multi-season knee injury derailed much of the momentum around the core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Vučević and Ball, and the Bulls simply aren't realistic contenders in the Eastern Conference as currently constructed.

Perhaps that signals the need to start a rebuild, and bringing back Vučević at this stage of his career would be anything but looking ahead to the future.

A team-friendly deal would soften the blow some and apparently be easier on the fans' stomachs, but this is still a team that appears well behind the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat with or without the big man.