- If the Bulls are to choose one of Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune believes it would be the former. Portis, he writes, is well liked by his teammates. He’s also on a cheaper contract and would handle coming off the bench behind rookie Lauri Markkanen better.
An announcement is expected to come on Friday saying that the city of Chicago will host the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. The occasion will mark the first time since 1988 that mid-season festivities were held in the Windy City. That year, of course, it was Michael Jordan who was named MVP of the contest (and dunk champion, for that matter).
The Bulls are in a considerably different position today than they were at the onset of Jordan’s heyday. So Tim Goldrick of NBC Sports Chicago asks if any of the Bulls’ current roster could conceivably be named All-Stars when the game unfolds in Illinois. While Goldrick goes through much of the roster on a case-by-case basis, there really are only a few individuals worth serious consideration given the track records.
The safest bets to be named to the squad, per Goldrick, are rookie Lauri Markkanen and guard Zach LaVine. The former has impressed over the course of his first month in the NBA averaging 15.8 points and 8.2 boards per contest.
By the time February 2020 roles along, Markkanen would be 22 years old and presumably an even larger part of the team’s offense so it’s not unreasonable to imagine him earning a genuine spot on the roster.
LaVine is a unique case given his popularity as a dunk contest legend. In February 2020, LaVine will be just 25 years old, a staggering realization considering that it feels as though he’s already been in the NBA forever (really it’s just been three seasons).
Will LaVine get enough of an opportunity to showcase himself as more than just a dunker in Chicago? The high flyer has yet to officially suit up in Bulls gear after coming over from the Timberwolves, so nobody can really say for sure what he’s capable of as an offensive focal point.
Beyond LaVine and Markkanen, there are a few dark horse candidates that could see their impacts rise significantly in the next two to three seasons, Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic chief among them.
Do you agree with this assessment of the young assets on the Bulls roster? If you had to rank the top five Bulls players most likely to earn a spot in the game in 2020, how would you order them? Weigh in below.
The Chicago Bulls will host the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. The formal announcement is expected to come on Friday, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel in attendance.
The All-Star Weekend will move to Chicago a year after the 2019 game is played in Charlotte. This year, of course, the mid-season festivities will be held in Los Angeles.
The last time the All-Star Game was held in Chicago was 1988. At that time, however, it was held at Chicago Stadium and not the United Center.
While trade rumors generally don’t gain a ton of steam until a little closer to the deadline, several candidates to be moved have emerged in the opening weeks of the 2017/18 season. Eric Bledsoe was the first to be dealt, with the Suns finding a taker for him more than three months before this season’s trade deadline.
However, with Bledsoe off the board, teams may find it difficult to find viable deals involving several of the other players on the trade block around the NBA. Several of the most noteworthy current trade candidates either have undesirable contracts or haven’t shown enough on-court value to make them worthwhile investments — or both.
Here’s a breakdown of five players who teams may have trouble moving – or at least finding fair value for – in advance of the 2018 trade deadline:
- Luol Deng, Lakers: Deng is in the second year of a four-year contract worth $72MM, one of the least team-friendly deals in the league. Deng is unhappy with his lack of a role in Los Angeles, and the Lakers – who want to clear enough cap room to make a run at multiple maximum-salary free agents in 2018, would love to accommodate a change of scenery for the veteran forward. As we heard earlier this week, the two sides are exploring trade or buyout possibilities. But trade interest is unsurprisingly “non-existent” and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggests the Lakers don’t want to go the buyout route at this point unless Deng takes a huge discount, which his camp seems unwilling to do. So this situation remains in a holding pattern for now.
- Greg Monroe, Suns: Although Monroe can still be a productive player, he wasn’t a part of this week’s Bledsoe trade because of his on-court abilities — he was included because of his expiring contract. The Suns are reportedly unlikely to keep him through the season, but flipping him won’t be easy. Monroe is earning nearly $18MM this season, and it’s tricky to move a salary of that size without taking back a multiyear contract, something Phoenix isn’t all that interested in doing. There simply aren’t many teams that have a need for a player like Monroe and would have the ability to match up with what the Suns would want out of a deal.
- Tyson Chandler, Suns: If the Suns can’t find a viable deal for Monroe, finding one for Chandler won’t be any simpler. Chandler is a little more affordable than Monroe, at $13MM this season, but he has one more guaranteed year on his contract for 2018/19. A team desperate for rim protection and veteran leadership could be willing to take on his contract, but the Suns may need to sweeten the deal with a draft pick or another asset. Considering Chandler isn’t unhappy in Phoenix, it may make more sense to just be patient and wait until the offseason to seriously attempt to move him.
- Nikola Mirotic, Bulls: Forced to take sides in the Mirotic/Bobby Portis altercation, the Bulls’ locker room and front office appear to be united — they’re with Portis. It may seem counter-intuitive that the player on the receiving end of a punch that caused multiple facial fractures is now on the outs, but Portis has seemingly said and done all the right things since delivering that blow, and his dedication and work ethic are highly valued in the Bulls’ locker room. Understandably, Mirotic no longer wants any part of the situation, but he can’t be traded until January 15. And even when he becomes trade-eligible, the 26-year-old may not have a lot of value — he’s earning $12.5MM, and has provided inconsistent production throughout his first three NBA seasons. Plus, if he’s truly as culpable in the incident with Portis as the Bulls have suggested, suitors may have personality concerns.
- Jahlil Okafor, Sixers: Unlike the other players on this list, Okafor isn’t expensive — he’s earning just $5MM this season. He also isn’t past his prime, like Deng and Chandler. In fact, at age 21, he almost certainly hasn’t reached his prime yet. For those reasons, Okafor may not be difficult to trade, but the Sixers will have a very hard time extracting what they perceive to be fair value for 2015’s third overall pick. Okafor can’t crack Philadelphia’s rotation, and there are serious concerns about his defensive ability, limiting his appeal. Because the Sixers declined his $6.3MM option for 2018/19, Okafor also can’t receive a contract offer worth more than $6.3MM from the team that acquires him, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, meaning he may just end up being a rental. A club is unlikely to surrender much for that.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The lingering tension between Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis continues to loom over the Bulls, with the team finding it harder than ever to support both players. As K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune details, Mirotic remains upset about the situation, particularly since he’s still recovering from the injuries he sustained when he was punched by Portis, who has returned to the court following his eight-game suspension. Mirotic’s camp has made it clear to the Bulls that he doesn’t feel like he and Portis can coexist going forward, Johnson notes.
Portis seems more willing to bury the hatchet, suggesting on Tuesday that he wants to “let bygones be bygones.” Although Portis is aware of the reported ultimatum from Mirotic’s camp, he recognizes that the team’s decision on whether to trade one player or the other is out of his control, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times details.
“I want to rekindle our relationship, try as best as possible, but I don’t control that right now,” Portis said. “I’m here to play basketball.”
In a separate report, Cowley suggests that the Bulls’ locker room seems to favor Portis over Mirotic, citing two players on the team who say that the ultimatum from Mirotic’s side is carrying “zero weight.” Reports out of Chicago since the incident last month have indicated that members of the Bulls believe Mirotic is partially to blame for the altercation with Portis, and it sounds as if at least a couple of his teammates believe Mirotic needs to move past it. “This is Niko’s problem now,” one Bull told Cowley.
As we wait to see how the Bulls handle the situation, let’s round up a few more notes out of Chicago…
- Jimmy Butler admitted to Sam Alipour of ESPN The Magazine that he felt like the Bulls would eventually move on from either him or Fred Hoiberg, and wasn’t surprised by their decision. “I said from the beginning it was either gonna be me or the Fred Hoiberg route,” Butler said. “And rightfully so, they took Fred. Good for them.”
- While he’s happy with how things turned out, Butler is also looking forward to his first game against the Bulls, as he tells Alipour: “I got that game marked on my calendar. February 9, baby — I’m back. Oh, man, they better hope I go 0-for-30, ’cause every basket I score, I’m looking over at the bench and I got something to say.”
- Barring any setbacks, Bulls guard Zach LaVine is on track to begin taking contact in about two weeks, Cowley writes for The Sun-Times. LaVine, who continues to recover from last year’s ACL injury, hopes to return to action within the next month or two.
Bobby Portis will jump into the Bulls’ rotation when his eight-game suspension ends on Tuesday, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Portis, who was punished for punching and injuring teammate Nikola Mirotic during a scrimmage scuffle, will back up rookie Lauri Markkanen at power forward. “We do plan on Bobby being the backup four,” coach Fred Hoiberg told Smith and other media members. “We’ll see how the flow of the game is going and see if we can slide him down to the five and allow he and Lauri to play together for a stretch.” Hoiberg said the second unit needs the boost that Portis can provide. “Every time he steps on the floor and we need a jolt of energy, he can provide that for us,” he said. “He needs to continue to do those little things that have made him successful when he’s been on the floor his first couple years in the league.”
In other items concerning the Bulls:
- Jerian Grant is looking more comfortable at point guard and has emerged as a true competitor to Kris Dunn for the starting job, as Smith examines in a separate piece. Grant posted a near triple-double against the Pelicans on Saturday with 13 points, eight rebounds and nine rebounds while Dunn played only 17 minutes and shot 2-for-9 from the field. “I was able to push the ball and find my teammates,” Grant told Smith and other reporters. “If I continue to do that we can win some games and be in a game with a team like that.”
- Center Robin Lopez believes the team’s younger players shouldn’t simply be handed playing time, as he expressed to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s something to be said for earning minutes,’’ Lopez said. “It kind of builds character. It’s just not going to work out perfectly all the time, but I’m a proponent of that.’’
- Markkanen ranks second only to the Sixers’ Ben Simmons as a Rookie of the Year candidate, according to Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago.
The Bulls and Hawks appear to be the most likely landing spots for Jahlil Okafor, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who cites league sources in his latest report at NBA.com. However, the Sixers continue to hold out for “at least a draft pick,” Aldridge writes.
While it’s not clear if Aldridge is referring to a first-round pick or just a decent second-rounder, his report sounds similar to one from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski last week. Wojnarowski indicated that the 76ers remain committed to acquiring some sort of “asset” in exchange for Okafor, who has asked to be traded or bought out.
[RELATED: Jahlil Okafor confirms he wants trade or buyout]
The Bulls and Hawks are both very much in rebuilding mode, with just two wins apiece so far this season, so a move to acquire a 21-year-old with Okafor’s pedigree would make sense for either team. However, both clubs figure to maintain a tight hold on their draft picks, and – like Boston – would almost certainly be unwilling to part with a first-rounder for Okafor.
Although the former third overall pick still has plenty of potential, his contract situation makes him a tough sell. Because his fourth-year option was turned down, Okafor will be an unrestricted free agent next July, and the team carrying him as season’s end won’t be able to offer him a contract with a starting salary higher than about $6.3MM, the amount of his declined option. So if Okafor were to be traded now and then enjoyed a breakout year with his new team, that club may not be able to re-sign him.
Okafor would like resolution sooner rather than later, but as Aldridge notes, it’s possible that the Sixers will hang onto him as insurance against a potential Joel Embiid injury, or in order to use him as a salary-matching piece in a deadline deal.
The 76ers don’t want to take on any extra salary in a potential Okafor trade, since they want to have the flexibility to renegotiate Robert Covington‘s contract after November 15 and to retain cap space for next summer, says Aldridge. Philadelphia is also reluctant to buy out Okafor, according to Aldridge, since they believe it would take the division-rival Celtics “about 30 seconds to scarf him up.”
At the same time the Bulls are set to get some reinforcements in their frontcourt, with Bobby Portis returning from his eight-game suspension, the team’s backcourt has taken a hit. According to head coach Fred Hoiberg, starting shooting guard David Nwaba will be sidelined for the next two to four weeks due to a severely sprained ankle (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago).
Nwaba, who is currently in a walking boot, sustained the injury in the third quarter of Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Pelicans, and had to be helped off the court.
The 24-year-old, claimed off waivers from the Lakers during the offseason, had stepped into Chicago’s starting lineup for Paul Zipser last week, and had been playing well. In eight total games this season for the Bulls, Nwaba has averaged 6.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG to go along with a shooting line of .526/.400/.722 in 21.0 minutes per contest.
With Nwaba sidelined, Zipser will return to the starting lineup at small forward, with Justin Holiday shifting back to shooting guard.
Once Nwaba misses three games, the Bulls will be eligible to apply for an injury hardship exception, if they so choose. Hardship exceptions grant an extra roster spot to teams missing at least four players for three or more games due to injury or illness. Chicago is already without Zach LaVine, Nikola Mirotic, and Cameron Payne.
Having served his team-mandated eight-game suspension, Bulls forward Bobby Portis will make his return to action on Tuesday night. As Nick Friedell of ESPN writes, however, it’s not yet clear how he’ll fit into the club’s rotation.
“I think he’s handled it as well as he could have,” Bulls center Robin Lopez said of Portis. “I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen going forward with rotations or anything, but I know he’s mentally prepared for it, and we’re excited to have him back.”
Portis came on strong for the Bulls toward the end of last season but the franchise is in a much different spot now than they were just a few months ago. There’s no guarantee that the big man’s spot on the depth chart will look the same in 2017/18.
Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen has thrived at the four, averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in his first campaign.
Bulls forward Bobby Portis will be eligible to return from his eight-game suspension on Tuesday, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get playing time right away, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Coach Fred Hoiberg responded, “We’ll see,” when asked whether he plans to use Portis in that game.