The struggling Chicago Bulls seem ready to move on from their underperforming core stars, but it’s unclear how many of them will have positive trade value.

Following reports that team president Arturas Karnisovas was looking to trade Chicago’s two highest-paid players—injury-prone guards Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball—there’s now information suggesting that the team’s third-priority player could also be on the move.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Bulls are open to trading their overpaid starting center, Nikola Vucevic, to focus on younger talent, assuming unrestricted free agent small forward DeMar DeRozan indeed signs elsewhere this summer.

DeRozan, Vucevic’s former USC teammate and the best player on last season’s 39-43 Bulls, is reportedly being pursued by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, and the Sacramento Kings.

After two seasons as a key part of Chicago’s core, including DeRozan, All-Star shooting guard LaVine, point guard Ball, All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso, former 2020 lottery pick Patrick Williams, and guard Coby White, Vucevic proved that the team wasn’t strong enough to truly compete in the Eastern Conference by the summer of 2023. The team only made the playoffs once during that time, in 2022, when they were soundly defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks.

In the 2022–23 season, with Ball missing the entire year due to a knee injury (he’s been out since January 2022), the team finished 40–42 and missed the playoffs. Vucevic, known for his passing and average three-point shooting, is a poor defender who excels when he’s a focal point in a team’s (often inefficient) offense. By 2023, it was clear that the Bulls should have let the then-impending free agent, Vucevic, leave.

Unfortunately, the former Trojan is still owed $41.5 million over the next two seasons, when he’ll be 34 and 35 years old. In 76 games last season (74 starts), Vucevic averaged 18 points on.484/.294/.822 shooting splits, along with 10.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game. He lacks lateral quickness, verticality, and rim protection. During his All-Star seasons with the Orlando Magic, he at least had a reliable three-point shot.

The challenge now is figuring out how to trade Vucevic’s contract for value. The rebuilding Bulls need young players and future draft picks. However, if trading Vucevic requires Chicago to give up draft picks, the team might have to keep the veteran center. Without Caruso and likely DeRozan, the Bulls will struggle, and Vucevic could contribute to that.