Chicago Bulls: 5 takeaways from first 2 weeks of 2017-18 season
1. Front office has its hands full
Executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman haven’t exactly endeared themselves to the fanbase. In fact, their track record of draft selections and trade acquisitions can be categorized as questionable at best.
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Now, it seems the unpopular duo is front and center once again following the altercation that occurred between Portis and Mirotic. As a result of the heated exchange between the two forwards, Portis was suspended for eight games after landing a punch that broke multiple bones in Mirotic’s face.
On top of that, Mirotic is expected to be out 4-6 weeks after he clears the league’s concussion protocol and will more than likely have to wear a mask when he returns to the court, but the story doesn’t end there.
After initially expressing a desire to remain in Chicago, Mirotic has since changed his stance and his camp has informed the Bulls he would be open to being traded if the team decided to keep Bobby Portis. Keep in mind Portis’ fourth-year option was recently picked up, thus putting the front office in a very difficult position.
"‘‘I don’t know right now,’’ Paxson told the Chicago Sun-Times when asked if he thought the situation could have a happy ending. ‘‘Your hope is that, as time goes on, there can be some communication where it gets resolved. But this is a unique situation; it really is. That’s why I say we don’t have all the answers today and are not sure where it’s exactly going to go.’’"
Next: 2017-18 Week 3 NBA Power Rankings
While the outcome of this recent fiasco is still in doubt, what is a certainty is one of these two players will be suiting up for another team before the season is over.