The Houston Rockets’ championship aspirations took a devastating blow with the news that point guard Fred VanVleet will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season due to a torn ACL. The injury, announced just two months after Houston’s blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, serves as a stark reminder of how quickly a team’s fortunes can shift when a key player goes down. For the Chicago Bulls, who are far from title contenders, this news hits uncomfortably close to home. Their roster, meticulously reshaped by executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas this offseason, remains precariously thin at the center position—a fatal flaw that could derail their season if Nikola Vucevic were to suffer a similar fate.
The Bulls’ Offseason of Wings
Karnisovas spent the 2025 offseason bolstering the Bulls’ roster with versatile combo forwards, prioritizing wing depth over addressing the team’s glaring weakness at center. The selection of Noa Essengue with the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft added a promising young forward to the mix. Trading Lonzo Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro further emphasized this focus on wings, swapping a guard for another athletic, defensive-minded forward. Meanwhile, Kevin Huerter remains on the roster in the final year of his contract, and the franchise continues to hold high hopes for Patrick Williams. Second-year forward Matas Buzelis is expected to make a significant leap, potentially becoming a cornerstone for the team’s future.
This “Offseason of the Wing” has left Chicago with an enviable collection of versatile forwards but a glaring deficiency in the frontcourt. While the Bulls have players who can stretch the floor and defend multiple positions, their lack of depth at center could prove catastrophic if their star big man, Nikola Vucevic, misses significant time.
Vucevic: The Ironman Anchor
At 35 years old, Nikola Vucevic remains the linchpin of Chicago’s frontcourt. His performance at EuroCup 2025 demonstrated that he’s still capable of elite production, and his 2024-25 NBA season was another testament to his consistency: 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and a career-high 40.2 percent shooting from three-point range. Vucevic’s durability is equally impressive, having played in at least 70 games for the fifth consecutive season. However, with nearly 1,000 career games under his belt by the 2026 All-Star break, the wear and tear of a 15-year NBA career at age 35 raises legitimate concerns.
Vucevic’s ability to stretch the floor, rebound, and facilitate from the center position is critical to Chicago’s system. Without him, the Bulls’ offense would lose its rhythm, and their rebounding would suffer significantly. The team’s lack of a reliable backup center only amplifies the risk of relying so heavily on an aging veteran.
The Depths of Chicago’s Center Woes
If Vucevic were to go down, the Bulls’ options at center are uninspiring at best. Zach Collins, acquired in the Zach LaVine trade with San Antonio, would likely step into the starting role. The 27-year-old, selected 10th overall in the 2017 draft, has never been a full-time starter in his 378 career games, starting just 83. While Collins showed flashes of competence in 28 games with Chicago last season, averaging 8.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, those numbers fall far short of what a contending team needs from a starting center. The word “serviceable” encapsulates Collins’ contribution—reliable enough for spot duty but inadequate as a long-term replacement for Vucevic.
Beyond Collins, the situation grows even bleaker. Jalen Smith, who fell out of the rotation entirely by the end of last season, is the next option. Smith’s ability to shoot from deep (32.4 percent on 3.5 attempts per game in his first year with Chicago) is intriguing, but his overall impact has been minimal. His role as a stretch big is better suited for specific matchups than as a primary center option.
Matas Buzelis, a talented second-year forward, could theoretically slide to center in an emergency, but his skill set is far better suited to power forward or even small forward. Rookie Lachlan Olbrich, a second-round pick in 2025, appears destined for spot minutes at best, lacking the polish or physicality to handle significant center duties.
A Harrowing Reminder
Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury is a sobering wake-up call for the Bulls. While Chicago isn’t chasing a championship like Houston, their playoff hopes hinge on Vucevic’s health and productivity. The Rockets’ loss of VanVleet underscores how a single injury to a key player can unravel even the most carefully laid plans. For the Bulls, the absence of a reliable backup center—or any meaningful depth at the position—leaves them vulnerable to a similar collapse.
Karnisovas’ focus on wings and forwards has given the Bulls a versatile, modern roster on the perimeter, but it’s come at the cost of neglecting their most glaring weakness. As the 2025-26 season approaches, Chicago’s front office must hope that Vucevic’s ironman streak continues. If it doesn’t, the Bulls’ nightmare scenario—a season derailed by a lack of frontcourt depth—could become a reality.