- After three years with Nike, Bulls guard Zach LaVine has agreed to a four-year, $35MM shoe deal with Adidas, Nick DePaula of ESPN says. The prolific slam dunk contest champion has been sidelined with a torn left ACL since last February.
- The Bulls don’t have a set date for when Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis will meet for the first time following their fight, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.
Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic will not have surgery on the facial fractures he suffered when teammate Bobby Portis punched him, team vice president of basketball operations John Paxson told George Ofman of WBBMNewsradio (Twitter link). Mirotic will have a light workout at the team’s practice facility on Tuesday, Ofman adds.
Mirotic was expected to miss 4-6 weeks in the aftermath of the altercation, but this development suggests a four-week absence is more likely. There has been speculation that the Bulls’ power forward would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to escape the tense situation but he cannot be traded until January 15.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg declared an “open” competition for the starting point guard slot after tonight’s 32-point loss to the Thunder, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. Kris Dunn, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Minnesota, made his season debut after missing the first four games with a dislocated finger. Dunn fell on the finger, but Hoiberg said he was “fine” after the game.
Jerian Grant started his fifth straight game, but has been less than stellar as Chicago has compiled a 1-4 record. He was averaging 10.8 points and 7.3 assists coming into tonight, but was shooting 39.5% from the field and was just 1 of 10 from 3-point range. He missed all seven of his shots against OKC and finished with two points. Kay Felder, who was claimed off waivers earlier this month, is the third point guard.
There’s more news from Chicago:
- Cameron Payne could become another candidate for that starting spot when he returns from offseason foot surgery. The Bulls’ decision to pick up his option Friday indicates they still see him as part of the future, notes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Payne saw limited playing time after being acquired from the Thunder at February’s deadline. “The thing with Cam, obviously came in during the middle of the season,’’ Hoiberg said, “came at a tough time. The biggest thing we saw, especially in the playoff prep when he was playing the role of Isaiah Thomas, he really showed an ability to get downhill, spray the ball out.’’ The team doesn’t expect Payne back on the court before the start of 2018.
- Nikola Mirotic, who is still recovering from the damage caused by a punch from Bobby Portis, has been cleared for supervised activity at the team facility, but hasn’t started yet, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Hoiberg said it may happen tomorrow or Monday.
- David Nwaba, who won a roster spot after being claimed off waivers in July, is making a case for more playing time, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The second-year guard is impressing teammates with his commitment to defense. “David is one of the best shot contesters I’ve played against,” said Justin Holiday. “Remember when he blocked [Kyle] Korver‘s shot? How many do you see block Korver’s shot?”
- In his latest comments about the Nikola Mirotic–Bobby Portis kerfuffle, Bulls executive vice president John Paxson reiterated that they’re feeling out the best way of handling the scenario but noted that they’ll do what’s in the organization’s best interest. As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes, that’s a reminder that both players technically remain under contract, giving the franchise final say in what happens.
The Bulls have exercised options on all five of their eligible players, the team announced in a press release. That was the plan all along, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
Returning on third-year options in 2018/19 will be Kris Dunn and Denzel Valentine while all of Jerian Grant, Cameron Payne and Bobby Portis will be back on fourth-year options.
While it makes sense for a rebuilding team to retain young players with promise, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweeted on October 18 that the club hadn’t, at that point, made a decision about Portis.
Portis infamously hospitalized Nikola Mirotic in a team practice on October 17 and several stories have emerged in the last few days about internal doubts that the two will ever be able to co-exist in a Bulls locker room again.
As far as asset management goes, however, it makes sense for the Bulls to pick up the options on all of the capable young players as doing so doesn’t preclude them from making any moves with Mirotic, of Portis for that matter, in the future.
The exercised options of Dunn and Valentine are obvious choices. Both players, highly regarded entering their rookie campaigns in 2016/17, have shown flashes of why they were so revered in college. The raw but malleable assets are exactly the type of building blocks that a team in Chicago’s current position ought to be collecting.
In contrast, Grant, the club’s starting point guard thus far in 2018/19, is the most heavily utilized player of the bunch. Grant has posted averages of 10.8 points and an impressive 7.3 assists per game in a full starter’s workload through four games. He may end up ceding time and opportunity to Dunn, who is expected to return in a reserve role soon, but has done a fine job establishing himself in his third season.
The decision to exercise Payne’s fourth-year option seems natural considering that the team marketed him as a potential point guard of the future last season.
As the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson noted in a separate tweet, there remains internal belief that Payne could have an impact on the rebuilding team if he’s able to maintain his health. Payne has played just 88 games throughout the first three years of his career.
After trading Jimmy Butler, waiving Rajon Rondo, and buying out Dwyane Wade, the Bulls appeared set to lay low this season, embarking on a full-fledged rebuild with virtually no pressure to win games in 2017/18. However, the franchise, plagued by on-court and off-court drama in recent years, couldn’t even make it to opening night without creating headlines again.
In this case, it was Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic at the center of the latest story out of Chicago. A tense scrimmage led to shoving between the two power forwards, which escalated to Portis throwing a punch that landed Mirotic in the hospital — he sustained a concussion and facial fractures.
The altercation resulted in an eight-game suspension for Portis, and Mirotic is expected to miss upwards of six weeks while he recovers from his injuries. But the saga didn’t end there.
Unsurprisingly, despite a token apology from Portis, there’s still tension between the two players. A report on Friday indicated that Mirotic, who has the ability to veto trades, may be willing to approve a deal out of Chicago, with one source suggesting that the situation may result in a “me or him” ultimatum.
The latest breakdown on the situation from BlogABull.com does a good job laying out why Mirotic may not be thrilled by the idea of remaining in Chicago. The Bulls didn’t exactly come down hard on Portis for punching a teammate, letting him continue to practice with the club during his relatively light suspension.
Additionally, Mirotic had barely been discharged from the hospital when the Bulls’ front office and coaches began insisting there was plenty of blame to go around, suggesting that Mirotic was at fault for escalating the altercation that left him with multiple broken bones in his face. It’s possible that’s true — only a handful of people saw it happen, so the rest of us have to take their word for it. But it certainly sounds like the Bulls are pushing a narrative that avoids vilifying Portis, the player whose “work ethic and commitment” they clearly prefer.
Given the Bulls’ apparent preference for Portis – and Mirotic’s reported desire for a deal, as Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago details – a trade of Mirotic seems like the most obvious solution to fixing the situation. It’s not that easy, however. Because he signed a new contract with the Bulls this offseason, one that met certain criteria related to his Bird rights, Mirotic isn’t eligible to be moved until January 15.
Would the Bulls trade Portis? According to Goodwill, they’ve spoken to at least one team about a possible deal, and are expected to remain active on that front over the next few days. As we detailed on Wednesday, Portis’ fourth-year team option is one of the 2018/19 rookie scale options that has yet to be exercised. Facing an October 31 deadline, the Bulls will have to make a call on that option within the next few days, which could have an impact on the trade market for Portis (though that impact should be minimal, considering the option is worth a modest $2.5MM).
I get the sense that the Bulls aren’t all-in on finding a taker for Portis, but it’s not clear what the team’s plan is. For now, with Portis suspended and Mirotic still recovering, there’s no rush for resolution. Still, Portis will only be out for four more games and Mirotic could be back on the court before the end of November, so it’s not a situation the Bulls should want to drag out either.
After an offseason which saw the mindset of the Bulls’ front office shift from contending to rebuilding, Gar Forman and John Paxson are facing their first major challenge of the new era in Chicago. It will be fascinating to see how they handle it.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
A solid string of performances throughout his first week as an NBA pro has Lauri Markkanen turning heads. Most recently, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders writes, the rookie out of Arizona has impressed Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
“He’s going to continue to get better,” James told the media. “The best thing about it is he’s getting an opportunity. If he makes mistakes, he can learn on the fly, but he’s going to play a lot. He’s good. It seems like he’s learning. He’s a good player.”
In three games with the Bulls so far, Markkanen has averaged an impressive 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He’s done so in matchups against an array of formidable teams: the Spurs, Raptors and Cavs.
While much has gone wrong for the squad so far this season, the good news is that they seem to have nailed the draft pick that came with their offseason Jimmy Butler trade. Of course the better Markkanen plays, the harder it will be to relegate him to the bench when sidelined teammates Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis return to action.
That’s a challenge the organization is happy to face.
There’s more out of Chicago:
- LeBron James wasn’t the only Cavaliers player to speak highly of Lauri Markkanen. As Sam Amico of Amico Hoops writes, he impressed Dwyane Wade as well. “You can see if a guy knows how to play basketball when you first see him, right away. In the preseason, we all said he can play. No matter his age he can play. He’s aggressive. He understands they need him to score,” Wade said.
- After showing this summer that he’d like to remain in Chicago, Nikola Mirotic‘s camp suggested that his stance may not have necessarily changed, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. That being said, there’s growing sentiment that, perhaps, he and Bobby Portis won’t be able to co-exist. As Johnson notes, there will presumably be more clarity as Mirotic recovers.
- Speaking of Nikola Mirotic‘s recovery, the 26-year-old hasn’t yet been cleared from concussion protocol, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The forward will not be cleared for surgery until such time (if surgery proves necessary). Mirotic’s next concussion appointment will be next week.
There have been indications that Bulls forwards Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis may not be able to co-exist when the former returns to the court following his injury, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. There is now a sense that Mirotic is becoming more open to a trade, with one source suggesting that the situation may be heading toward a “me or him” ultimatum.
Johnson notes that Mirotic, signed to a two-year $27MM contract with trade veto rights during the first season, would now consider waiving that veto if the Bulls were to find a trade partner. Per CBA rules, however, Mirotic can not be traded whatsoever until January 15.
As we wrote last week, a punch from Portis in one of the team’s final practices before the regular season began has rendered Mirotic sidelined for four to six weeks. The 26-year-old suffered a concussion and fractured facial bones as a result of the altercation.
When healthy and utilized heavily, Mirotic can be a solid NBA asset, so his trade value could be intriguing despite the lofty price point. In fact, were it not for the tension that could potentially loom between he and Portis, it could be assumed that Mirotic would slot in alongside players like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen as possible core pieces for future.
Alas, one can’t blame Mirotic for at least being open to an opportunity elsewhere considering the substantial consequences of the incident.
- Kris Dunn, who has yet to make his debut for the Bulls, will come off the bench when he returns to the court, head coach Fred Hoiberg said today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune). Dunn is expected to play his first game for Chicago on either Thursday or Saturday.
In an in-depth and well-researched piece for ESPN, Nick Friedell examines how the Bulls went from a title contender to one of the NBA’s worst teams within the last several years. Friedell’s report, which begins by revisiting Derrick Rose‘s first major injury back in 2012, provides plenty of interesting tidbits along the way, touching on the tension between Tom Thibodeau and the front office, Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah, Dwyane Wade and his young teammates, and Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic.
As Friedell details, there has no been no shortage of issues in Chicago in recent years, with even the most successful seasons during that stretch including a few sour notes. For instance, sources tell Friedell that executives John Paxson and Gar Forman felt like they didn’t get enough credit for the roster they built during the Thibodeau years.
Friedell’s whole piece is worth a read, but here are a couple more details from it, along with more Bulls notes:
- When the Bulls landed Wade last summer, Forman conveyed the impression that the front office had been planning its pursuit of Wade for weeks. In reality though, according to Friedell, the Bulls were “shocked” that they had an opportunity to pry Wade away from the Heat, and altered their rebuilding plans when it became clear they could sign him.
- Via Freidell, here’s what Paxson had to say about the perception that the Bulls could have done better than the Timberwolves’ package in a Butler trade: “Teams would call us all the time and probe about Jimmy and that type of thing. But no one ever made us any type of legitimate offer. In fact, most teams, when they would make an offer, it was somewhat insulting. So we always listened, which teams do, but it really came down to, could we start to rebuild with some quality young players? And hope that knowing what our future holds, it’s going to be painful at times. But if we get into these next few drafts at a fairly significant level, the hope is that pairing what draft picks we have going forward and the players that we got in this deal, we can get back sooner rather than later.”
- In a separate article for ESPN, Friedell notes that the fight between Portis and Mirotic denied the Bulls the opportunity to push an optimistic and hopeful narrative about the team’s rebuild to open the season.
- Although Portis privately and publicly apologized for punching Mirotic, there are growing concerns that the relationship between the two players may be much more difficult to repair, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. Mirotic hasn’t returned any of Portis’ calls or texts, says Cowley.