NBA season preview: 5 big questions for the Chicago Bulls
By John Hugar
3. Are DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic still in their primes?
By trading for Vucevic and signing DeRozan, the Bulls showed clear signs of a team that is tired of losing, adding two All-Stars to lead an intriguing group of young players. There’s one concern; both players are on the wrong side of 30. DeRozan is going into his 13th season, while Vucevic is going into his 11th.
Admittedly, based on what we saw last season, there’s no reason to believe either player is declining. Vucevic made the All-Star team, and there’s a strong case that DeRozan should have gotten the final West nod over Mike Conley. That said, things can change quickly, and the Bulls are putting a lot of their playoff hopes on two players who have racked up quite a bit of mileage over the years. If Vucevic and DeRozan are the same players they were last year, it will be hard to keep this team out of the playoffs. If not, a lot of the burden could fall to LaVine once again.