Chicago Bulls: Nikola Mirotic taking another step towards return

Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic recently practiced with the team for the first time since a preseason altercation with Bobby Portis.

The Chicago Bulls began the 2017-18 campaign with an interesting twist. Two players vying for playing time at the power forward position – Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis — were involved in a heated exchange two days before the season even got underway.

The result was Portis throwing a punch that broke multiple bones in Mirotic’s face. Portis was served with a team-issued eight-game suspension for his role in the unfortunate incident, while Mirotic sustained a concussion and was expected to be out of action between 4-6 weeks.

To make matters worse, it was reported shortly thereafter that Mirotic would be willing to waive his no-trade clause in order to avoid being in the same locker room with Portis. To be perfectly honest, the sentiment is understandable to an extent.

Although the two players have not had any communication with each other since the altercation that took place back in October, the Bulls appear to be taking a step closer towards overcoming one of their early season obstacles. The step in question has to do with Mirotic practicing with the team for the first time in over two months and yes; this includes sharing the court with Portis as well.

On top of that, Mirotic even took some light contact as well – another positive sign in a storyline that has been hanging over this Bulls team like a black cloud for the first two months of the season.

For obvious reasons, Mirotic still isn’t thrilled about the idea of being around Portis, but in spite of the volatile situation, head coach Fred Hoiberg is hoping the on-court communication between the two players will eventually lead to both sides finding a way to mend fences and put their differences behind them.

During Mirotic’s absence from the rotation, Portis has been playing well, to say the least. In his first two games following the suspension, he produced a pair of 20-10 outings. Additionally, in the eight games since, Portis is averaging a respectable 10.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest.

While no definitive timetable has been provided as to when Mirotic will officially return to the court, Hoiberg is one of several people who will be relieved to have another floor-spacer on the court that opposing defenses have to account for.

"‘‘As far as what he can provide on the floor, he’s obviously a guy who has a lot of experience playing at the professional level, a lot of years overseas,’’ Hoiberg told the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘He has had some really good moments in this league and given us some great production. Getting him back out here is certainly a step in the right direction.’’"

Whether Mirotic and Portis can eventually let bygones be bygones remains to be seen. What is a certainty, though, is the Bulls have dropped 15 of their first 18 games and are in need of another difference-maker, to put it mildly.

Next: 2017-18 Week 7 NBA Power Rankings

While addng Mirotic back to the mix won’t guarantee a ton of victories for this struggling group, having another double-digit scorer in the lineup certainly won’t hurt either.