Nikola Vucevic was on top of his social media game over the summer, especially when it came to the rumors that the Bulls were looking to package him in a trade for Utah’s Rudy Gobert.
Once Gobert was sent to Minnesota in July, however, the Bulls big man tweeted, “Glad my offer for the house I found in Salt Lake got rejected then.”
Asked this week if he was ever concerned with being moved to the Jazz, Vucevic confessed that it was never really a worry.
“I was on Zillow every day … Salt Lake … nah, I’m kidding,” Vucevic said. “Honestly, I didn’t pay attention to it much. By speaking to AK [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas] here and [Coach] Billy [Donovan], I knew their plan and what they were thinking.
“People asked me about it all the time and it was on my Twitter all the time. So when Gobert got traded to Minnesota I thought it would be a good time to have a little joke.”
That doesn’t mean Vucevic trade rumors have ended there.
The veteran is in the final year of his current contract and will become an unrestricted free agent. If things go south for the Bulls by the trade deadline, an expiring contract could be a huge trade asset for a Bulls organization that doesn’t have a ton of assets to move.
“Rumors are a part of what we do,” Vucevic said. “Whether they’re true or not, it’s out of my control. I focus on what I can control, and in the end I had some fun with [the Jazz rumors].
“At no point did I feel it was going to happen.”
Stay tuned.
Ball out
With Lonzo Ball having his left knee surgery on Wednesday, the waiting game has started.
The plan was a re-evaluation in four to six weeks, and if everything goes well in that time there will be a clearer timetable.
Ball spoke on Tuesday, and what he was concerned with was the emotional toll this latest obstacle has thrown his way.
“I mean it’s tough,’’ Ball said. “This is my third time working on this knee. I’m at a point where I just want to get it over with and get healthy and get back to playing. I missed the playoffs last year, I haven’t played basketball pretty much all year. So for me, I just want to get out there with my teammates and do what I love to do.’’
Weight watcher
Not only did forward Patrick Williams show up to this camp ready to prove something in Season 3, but also thinner.
In his mind, he was overweight last season, and that extra weight led to too many injuries. Williams had a severe ankle sprain going into the 2021-22 camp, and then of course suffered a severe wrist injury just five games into the regular season.
That’s why he wanted to make a change.
“I wasn’t able to move the way I wanted to,’’ Williams said. “So this summer was a chance to really lock in and kind of see how I felt. I tried a bunch of different lifts, kind of seeing what I like, kind of seeing what weight I wanted to play at.
“I think I feel a little bit more athletic. I just feel ready.’’
