It’s been nearly three weeks since the passing of this season’s trade deadline passed and Nikola Vucevic was left unmoved within the marketplace.

There were tons of major deals made across the NBA before the February 6 trade deadline, from the stunning Luka Doncic trade, Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs pulling the trigger for De’Aaron Fox, and the Toronto Raptors taking an unexpected swing for Brandon Ingram.

Nikola Vucevic meanwhile finds himself staying put with the Chicago Bulls.

Ahead of the deadline he was viewed as one of the league’s top trade candidates. Vucevic remaining in the Windy City is intriguing.

There were several reported teams who pursued his service, and the Montenegrin center himself is even convinced that he will get dealt this 2024-25 midseason.

For now Vucevic will push through this year while wearing a Chicago uniform.

Nikola Vucevic addresses his stay in Chicag Bulls amid being a top trade candidate

Along with Lonzo Ball, the star center is one of the only top stars left on the Bulls. In the past offseason, Chicago notably shipped both DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso away. And in this past trade deadline, the team finally moved on from Zach LaVine.

Although he was left behind and the Bulls chose to stick around with him, Vucevic is now content to work things out alongside the franchise for the rest of the regular season.

But he was ‘disappointed’ to see Zach LaVine leave, and admitted the team really felt his absence, at least prior to the big win over Philadelphia.

“You have to do your best to be there for your teammates,” Vucevic said, via Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re still playing for something. We’re still in that play-in hunt.

‘‘Obviously, it was very disappointing to see Zach go. Me being the last of the three that were here, and the other guys, as well, this is the way it works in this business. It was tough for a little bit when he got traded.”

Vucevic is ready to help the Bulls clinch at least a Play-In spot

Despite embracing a rebuilding phase and mainly focusing in nurturing young talents like Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Matas Buzelis, it appears that the Bulls are still on a likely spot to be in the postseason picture come April. Mainly due to the ineptitude of other teams.

As of writing, Chicago stands at the last seed of the Play-In Tournament. They are within the 10th seed with a 23-35 card, leading just 1.5 games for the final spot over the Brooklyn Nets.

The 76ers were expected to overtake them after the LaVine trade, but they have now lost eight games in a row, including the 142-110 loss to the Bulls.

Vucevic, who is averaging is 19.1 points in a career-best 53.5 percent shooting to go with 10.3 boards, is committed in guiding the Bulls as their remaining veteran leader.

“It was kind of like, ‘OK, what happens with me?’ ’’ Vucevic said. “The front office picked a direction, and now at this point of the season, we have what we have.

“I was a little out of my rhythm, but I feel like I’ve found a few things the last couple of games. I still need to play better than I have.

“You just got to stay a pro no matter what’s going on.”

Regardless of the future that awaits between him the Bulls, Vucevic deserves tons of credit for staying professional and willing to aid the Bulls on their ongoing plans.