The Chicago Bulls (19-24) made a big move at the NBA trade deadline by acquiring All-Star center Nikola Vucevic from Orlando, and they will now be desperate to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The new-look team gets a good test straight away in a road game against the San Antonio Spurs (22-20).
Bookmaker 10Bet has the Bulls as underdogs for the clash with the moneyline win odds at +125.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 27th, 6:30 A.M. (EST)
Vucevic was linked with a number of teams, including the Spurs, but the Bulls’ offer of Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter and two first-round picks was hard to beat by anybody else. Chicago also added Al-Farouq Aminu, Troy Brown Jr., Daniel Theis and Javonte Green from the trade market.
There were a total of 16 trades between 23 teams on Thursday involving 46 players – it was the busiest trade deadline in 35 years.
By getting Vucevic, the Bulls add another reliable scoring option to the roster and they are further boosting their top-10 rebounding. The star center is averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game this season with 11.8 rebounds.
Chicago has been mediocre on both ends of the court, but they should turn into a top-tier offensive team with Vucevic joining Zach LaVine, who is averaging 28.1 points for the season on 52 percent shooting.
LaVine meshed well with point guard Coby White earlier in the season, but the second-year player still needs to improve his decision-making and playmaking skills, and head coach Billy Donovan has preferred to use him as a bench scorer lately.
The Spurs made their own big move at the deadline by buying out LaMarcus Aldridge’s contract. The seven-time All-Star had fallen out of the rotation and keeping him didn’t make any sense for neither party.
San Antonio has slowly moved towards a youth movement in recent years and getting rid of Aldridge is another step towards it. Last year, the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997, but the younger players have developed well and the team is right back in the mix this season.
Eight different players have averaged at least 10 points for the Spurs, but their offensive efficiency is actually at a lowly 107.3. In typical Gregg Popovich fashion, it’s the defense that has made the Spurs tough to beat again. They have the tenth-most efficient defense in the league (108.8) and they allow the eighth-fewest points per game (110.4).
