Nikola Vucevic has been a prominent name in Golden State Warriors trade rumors for a long time, but it turns out the front office's interest in the veteran center may be somewhat overblown.
After months of speculation surrounding a potential trade, the Warriors bypassed a deal with the Bulls to acquire Vucevic before the mid-season deadline. But with the 2x All-Star now set to enter the final year of his contract, there are once again suggestions that he could be a trade target for Golden State.
The Warriors don't have significant interest in Nikola Vucevic
ESPN's Kevin Pelton and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype have both floated the idea of a Jonathan Kuminga-for-Vucevic sign-and-trade in recent weeks, though the chances of that may appear slim based on the latest intel.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic stated on the latest episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast that interest on Vucevic as a trade target had cooled by the mid-season deadline.
"By the time they had their big ticket move which was (Jimmy) Butler, and Vucevic could have still been on the table, I felt a real coldness," Slater said.
Colleague Marcus Thompson II went a step further, suggesting that Golden State "don't really like him (Vucevic), he was just the best option at the time." The emergence of Quinten Post has also lessened the need for a similarly slow-footed seven-foot stretch big, at least one that will still make over $20 million on the final year of his deal.
Tim Kawakami of The San Fransisco Standard added that "who's to say Quinten Post won't be just as good as him (Vucevic) in a couple years," suggesting that the Warriors may be better served investing more time and development into their late second-round pick.
News of Golden State's disinterest in Vucevic should thrill fans given it should avoid the potential disaster of trading Kuminga for the soon-to-be 35-year-old. While Vucevic still makes some sense given the Warriors' uncertainty at the center position, giving up a talent like Kuminga for the Bulls center has a strong likelihood of coming back to bite the franchise in catastrophic fashion.
You could already write the headlines of when Kuminga is leading the Bulls to victory with 25-point nights, while Vucevic would almost certainly have games where he's played off the floor and isn't even near closing lineups.
That's not to say the Warriors should haven't some tiny ounce of interest in Vucevic, but it's good to hear that they don't particularly value him to a point where a calamitous Kuminga sign-and-trade is going to be forthcoming.