A hole in the center: Celtics roll with Vucevic, and an issue with Bulls’ team-building

The going-away party for Nikola Vucevic in Boston on Wednesday was not well-attended.

The Bulls traded away most of Vucevic's long-term teammates, which made Patrick Williams the only player in a red uniform who spent more than a year-and-a-half with “Vuc.”

With the flurry of trades last week, Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said he was tired of being in “the middle.” Maybe an ulterior motive was to make sure Bulls fans appreciate Vucevic's tenure in Chicago.

Mission accomplished in this game. The Bulls sat down on the deck and let the Celtics toss them into Boston Harbor, losing 124-105 in a game that was never close. Boston led by 28 at halftime, while the Bulls reached the all-star break on a six-game skid.

Vucevic was his usual steady self, producing 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Bulls. For all the complaints about the lack of rim protection, Vucevic was obviously a useful player. He was consistent, didn't miss many games and was a solid teammate, while his scoring and rebounding numbers stood up well against the league’s better centers.

With Vucevic gone, the Bulls are left with 6-foot-7 Guerschon Yabusele as their starting center, with journeyman Nick Richards in a backup role. There's not much chance of winning in the NBA with that rotation, which is basically how the Bulls drew it up.

“We're not tall,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Monday. “There's things we're going to have to overcome as a group. I think Yabu's in there doing the best he can, he's fighting, he's battling. Same with Nick. We can't just expect those guys to clean up the glass for us. There's got to be team rebounding.”

As the Bulls plod down the path of late-season losing, plenty of things don't make sense. The lack of attention to acquiring big men might top of the list.

This Bulls rebuild — which began with the departures of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine — was showing progress. There's a difference in upside when a team makes the play-in tournament led by Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, compared to the play-in with DeRozan and LaVine.

The pre-deadline version of the Bulls were arguably a player or two from being a playoff contender. But the player they needed, a rim-protecting center, is difficult to find in the NBA.

Why didn't Karnisovas just say that? “We think we're making progress and aren't far away.” There’s really no such thing as being “stuck in the middle” in today’s NBA. The Bulls were in position to make a significant trade with so many expiring contracts but couldn't pull it off. Or land a competent big man, or any first-round draft picks in return.

The trade that made the least sense was the one sending Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips to Minnesota for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks.

The Timberwolves have a rookie center, 6-11 Joan Beringer, sitting on the bench getting little playing time. If Minnesota wanted one of the Bulls point guards so badly, the response should have been, “Give us Beringer or no deal.”

Hang up the phone if a team isn't willing to budge. That's what Karnisovas should have done in the first place when Orlando asked for a second first-round pick in the 2021 Vucevic trade.

Sure, the Bulls did land former lottery pick Dillingham from Minnesota, and he finished with a garbage time-heavy 16 points and 7 assists against Boston. But if Giddey and Tre Jones return from injuries, Dillingham is basically the third-string point guard. Development is not guaranteed in this organization.

The Bulls should pick up a few more lottery chances with their impending meek finish. Or maybe things look better if Jalen Smith returns from a calf injury. Either way, the Bulls aren't going to drop more than a few spots in the standings, and they'll still be in desperate need of a center.

It’s possible the draft will deliver. If the plan is to chase Detroit's Jalen Duren or Utah's Walker Kessler as restricted free agents, it probably won't work because their current teams can match any offer.

By trading Vucevic to the Celtics, Karnisovas did his former center a huge favor by sending him to a playoff contender. If only AK would treat Bulls fans with the same consideration.