Bulls starter unhappy with team?

Feb 13, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan looks on during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls may have something else to add to their laundry list of woes this season.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Thursday that Bulls center Nikola Vucevic had an incident with new teammate Patrick Beverley during Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Beverley apparently called out Vucevic in the fourth quarter over a blown defensive rotation, leading to to words being exchanged between the two. They eventually were separated by Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan.

Cowley notes that Vucevic has not been thrilled with some of the finger-pointing that has gone on with the team this season. The Beverley incident was also not the first time that Vucevic was unhappy with the tone in which he was spoken to, Cowley adds.

Beverley was playing in just his fourth game for the Bulls, so there is likely a bigger issue at hand here with the team. Chicago, though 3-1 since Beverley arrived, is still just 29-34 (11th in the East). That is despite them having multiple All-Stars or former All-Stars such as Vucevic, DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Andre Drummond.

The 32-year-old Vucevic, averaging 17.7 points along with a team-high 11.3 rebounds per game this season, will be a free agent in the summer. Between the Bulls’ current record and the apparent grievances that Vucevic has with his teammates, it would not be surprising to see him leave in free agency (perhaps for this rumored destination).