Chicago Bulls: Who Will Start At The Power Forward Spot?

As the Chicago Bulls kicked off their preseason on Monday night, the question of who will assume the role of starting power forward, is still up in the air.

Fall has arrived. Which means so has NBA preseason.

The Chicago Bulls played their first of seven preseason matches on Monday night, taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at home, at the United Center. And while unfortunately they fell short, 93-91, there were still plenty of positives to focus on.

Like for instance, Dwyane Wade’s first ever Chicago introduction.

Rajon Rondo’s unmatchable ball-handling.

Along with Jimmy Butler looking happier than he potentially ever has.

But perhaps the most prominent observation that Bulls fans walked away with, was the fact that the starting power forward spot is still up for grabs.

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While Wade, Rondo, Butler and Robin Lopez are set to start in their prospective positions, head coach Fred Hoiberg is still feeling things out when it comes to the four spot.

"“We ran Taj (Gibson) with the first group today, we ran Bobby (Portis) a little bit with the first group, Niko (Mirotic) a little bit. It’s going to be ongoing and we’ll see who earns that spot.”"

Going into the offseason, most assumed Nikola Mirotic would take the starting role come 2016-17. Having started 38 out of 66 games last year, the 25-year-old averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game in 24.9 minutes of play. And although he struggled with health concerns, many had faith in him moving forward.

Especially given his productive summer.

Mirotic, having won a bronze medal with Spain in the Olympics, put in work this offseason. Between training for and playing in Rio de Janeiro ,and subsequently going through Chicago’s training camp, the 6-foot-10 forward did nothing but hone his skills over the last few months.

"“You can see this training camp is completely different than last year. Guys are very together and very excited, helping each other. The atmosphere is great, completely different. And I think we’re working harder than last year.”"

But unfortunately, he struggled on Monday night.

Going just 1-for-7 from the field (and 0-of-3 from downtown), Mirotic finished with only 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block in 19 minutes. Needless to say, Mirotic’s performance did not leave people feeling confident in his ability to start for this season’s team. His only saving grace being his ability to space the floor well.

At least in comparison to Taj Gibson and Tony Snell.