Chicago Bulls NBA Trade and Roster Rumors: Players Side With Bobby Portis in Incident With Nikola Mirotić
Nikola Mirotić has given the Chicago Bulls a "me or him" ultimatum after teammate Bobby Portis punched him in the face during an altercation at practice before the start of the season. But if the Bulls' locker room had their way, Mirotić would be the one packing his bags because they would rather have Portis on the team.
The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley has reported that the players are taking Portis' side in this matter because they think the second-year player has already done all he can to make amends with Mirotić.
"According to at least two Bulls players, the ultimatum issued by Nikola Mirotic and his camp that either he or Bobby Portis has to go is carrying zero weight. If anything, it has further entrenched Portis with his teammates with one telling the Sun-Times, 'This is Niko's problem now,'" Cowley said in his report.
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"To a man, the players agree that Portis' actions were wrong. No Bull disputes that. But there's a lingering sense that Mirotic came into training camp with a feeling of entitlement, which did not sit well with many of his younger teammates," he added.
Portis made a huge mistake by punching Mirotić and giving him a concussion as well as multiple facial fractures, but reports have indicated that the Montenegrin–Spanish forward also played an aggressive role in the incident, so he was partly to blame.
In any case, Mirotić can't be traded until Jan. 15 since he re-signed with the Bulls this summer.
Meanwhile, Portis has told reporters that he has not made another attempt to reach out Mirotić since he didn't receive a response to his initial texts or calls.
Portis came off the bench to score 21 points and grab 13 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors in his first game back from an eight-game suspension.
