Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic handles trade rumors with a joke and a smile

Nikola Vucevic was on top of his social-media game during the summer, especially when it came to rumors that the Bulls were looking to package him in a trade for former Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

Once Gobert was sent to the Timberwolves in July, however, the Bulls big man tweeted, “Glad my offer for the house I found in Salt Lake got rejected then.’’

Asked this week if he was ever concerned about being moved to the Jazz, Vucevic said it was never really a worry.

“I was on Zillow every day . . . Salt Lake . . . nah, I’m kidding,’’ Vucevic said. “Honestly, I didn’t pay attention to it much. By speaking to [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas] and [coach] Billy [Donovan], I knew their plan and what they were thinking.

“People asked me about it all the time, and it was on my Twitter all the time. So when Gobert got traded to Minnesota, I thought it would be a good time to have a little joke.’’

That doesn’t mean the Vucevic trade rumors have ended.

He’s in the last year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent. If things go south for the Bulls by the trade deadline, an expiring contract could be a huge trade asset for a team that doesn’t have a ton of assets to move.

“Rumors are a part of what we do,’’ Vucevic said. “Whether they’re true or not, it’s out of my control. I focus on what I can control, and, in the end, I had some fun with [the Jazz rumors].

“At no point did I feel it was going to happen.’’

Stay tuned.

Ball out

With Lonzo Ball having surgery on his left knee Wednesday, the waiting game has started.

The plan was a re-evaluation in four to six weeks, and if everything goes well, there will be a clearer timetable.

Ball spoke on Tuesday, and what concerned him the most was the emotional toll this latest obstacle will take.

“I mean, it’s tough,’’ Ball said. “This is my third time working on this knee. I’m at a point where I just want to get it over with and get healthy and get back to playing. I missed the playoffs last year; I haven’t played basketball pretty much all year. I just want to get out there with my teammates and do what I love to do.’’

Weight watcher

Not only did forward Patrick Williams show up to camp ready to prove something in his third season, but he also came back thinner.

In his mind, he was overweight last season, and that extra weight led to too many injuries. Williams had a painful ankle sprain going into camp last year, then suffered a severe wrist injury five games into the regular season.

That’s why he wanted to make a change.

“I wasn’t able to move the way I wanted to,’’ Williams said. “So this summer was a chance to really lock in and kind of see how I felt. I tried a bunch of different lifts, kind of seeing what I like, kind of seeing what weight I wanted to play at.

“I think I feel a little bit more athletic. I just feel ready.’’