Nikola Vucevic Praises Arturas Karnisovas, Says He Wants to Stay With Bulls
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Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic said he enjoys a “very good” line of communication with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and remains eager to continue his career in Chicago, according to comments he made to BasketNews.com.
The interview took place ahead of Montenegro’s 27-point loss to Lithuania at EuroBasket 2025, a game in which the 34-year-old produced 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
Trade speculation has followed Vucevic for months, and a late-July report even raised the possibility of a mid-season buyout if the Bulls cannot find a suitable deal. Vucevic said Karnisovas moved quickly to calm those rumors.
“He actually texted me to tell me not to worry about it and not to read into it,” Vucevic explained, noting that the two have known each other since a pre-draft dinner when Karnisovas worked for the Houston Rockets.
Vucevic will turn 35 in October and is entering the final season of his $21.48 million contract. He defended Karnisovas’ tenure, saying he liked many of the front office’s moves but acknowledged that injuries—most notably to Lonzo Ball—made it difficult for the previous roster to succeed and forced the club to shift toward slightly younger players.
“It has been good for me there,” he said of Chicago. “I have one more year left with them, so we will see what happens if I stay or if something changes. But yeah, obviously, I would love to win in Chicago.”
While Vucevic is not regarded as a top-tier rim protector, his durability and offensive consistency have remained assets. In the 2024-25 regular season, the two-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 53.0 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from three and 80.5 percent at the foul line over 73 games (31.2 minutes per game).
Source: Hoops Rumors
