Bulls beat Raptors as trade talk heats up for Nikola Vucevic

TORONTO — He’s 6-10 and 260 pounds with guard-like shooting range all wrapped in one large red bow.

Yep, Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic could make one heck of a consolation prize.

That’s the reality for Vucevic these days, waiting for some resolution for All-Star-caliber players such as Jimmy Butler and De’Aaron Fox, then finding out his own fate as the trade deadline approaches.

And while Vucevic is usually good about compartmentalizing trade rumors this time of year, even he seemed curious to find out what’s going to happen at 2 p.m. Thursday

“I mean, I think I’ve kind of learned to shut it off and not worry about it too much over the years because I’ve been in so many rumors, trade talks, things like that,” Vucevic said Friday. “You just learn to deal with it. When I was younger, I thought about it more, it affected me more. But now you kind of, I mean, obviously as it gets closer, there’s a kind of waiting to see what happens. Does it happen or not? But I don’t sit at home and think, ‘Oh, what if it happens?’ The waiting game is never the most fun thing, but it’s part of it.”

It definitely didn’t mess with his game against the Raptors, and that was apparent from the start in the Bulls’ 122-106 victory.

Vucevic set the tone in the first quarter, scoring 12 points, going 5-for-7 from the field, grabbing six rebounds and handing out two assists. He finished with 21 points and 12 boards.

“I think we did a better job trying to find him than we did in previous games,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought he had everything kind of going. With Zach [LaVine] being out [for the birth of his child], we need him to do more of that.”

So why the consolation-prize talk with Vucevic?

A source reiterated to the Sun-Times that Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas has remained busy talking with the Warriors and Suns, monitoring where they stand in the Butler trade talks with the Heat. There’s growing momentum that if Butler goes to one or the other, that could open up talks with the Bulls (21-28) about LaVine or, at a lesser cap hit, Vucevic.

The Sun-Times reported that the Bulls still would be interested in getting involved as a third or fourth team in a Butler trade if more partners are needed, but that remains more of a long shot.

The Warriors do have the pieces to go after LaVine or Vucevic, and both would be immediate fits for different reasons.

As far as the Suns, it would be tougher to move LaVine because of Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause, but with veteran center Jusuf Nurkic wanting out, Vucevic could be a solid backup plan.

There always has seemed to be LaVine/ Lakers talk going back to last season, but the Sun-Times reported that possibility as all but dead back in December. Could Vucevic be an option there, however? Anthony Davis wants to move away from center, and they could use Vucevic’s shooting, but which player or players would be the return and what kind of draft pick could they get from the Lakers?

Vucevic realizes that if he is moved, it will be to a team that is likely playoff-bound and believes it can be a contender.

“If it happens and it’s a win-now situation, of course, you have to enjoy that part, appreciate that part, take on that challenge,” Vucevic said. “At this stage of my career, if I’m able to get in a situation where I can win now, play for something meaningful, that would be great, and I would enjoy that. We’ll see what happens.”