The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of another decidedly “middling” season, and despite the front office’s best efforts, they haven’t found takers for star forward Zach LaVine and center Nikola Vučević, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

Maybe it has something to do with the first-round draft pick, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the team wants something in return for Vučević.

Vučević is having one of the best years of his career, posting 21 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from distance.

His age (34) and struggles on defense do not reflect the character of a player that teams are willing to arbitrarily throw away a first-round draft pick.

The team is trying to reacquire draft picks it didn’t receive through the trade of Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City.

By doing so, it prevents itself from trading a player it wants to trade and, more importantly, delays the inevitable rebuild that the team should have begun a season ago.

Trading LaVine was always going to be difficult given his knee issues and his contract worth nearly $90 million through the end of next season.

But the team could still begin its latest attempt at a rebuild by eliminating Vučević and getting what it can in return for an experienced player who is playing at a higher level than ever before.

However, they should be smart and not hold him to a king’s ransom to try to make up for another bad deal from the front office.

The Los Angeles Lakers need a center. They would probably be happy to acquire Vučević for the right price. This price is in no way equivalent to a first round draft pick.