Chicago Bulls NBA Trade Rumors: Nikola Mirotić Being Shopped
Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotić didn't seem to be paying attention when pundits wrote them off as a team undergoing a full rebuild.
Mirotić has been playing extraordinarily well recently, and the Bulls are now 10–3 since he made his season debut earlier in December. But despite their recent success, the Bulls are still expected to field offers for the Montenegrin–Spanish forward, and he may be shipped elsewhere once he's eligible to be moved in mid-January.
According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, the Bulls have already begun shopping Mirotić and veteran center Robin Lopez.
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Chicago Tribune's David Haugh has also reported that the Bulls are expected to part ways with Mirotić this season.
"Trading Mirotic at the peak of his NBA career fits philosophically into the Bulls' stated plan," Haugh said in his report.
"Mirotic can't be traded until Jan. 15, but at 12:01 a.m. that day, the Bulls should start taking calls — or making them. They need to maximize Mirotic's rising value for draft assets likely to turn into solid players when the Bulls are contenders again. By the time that happens — 2019–20 seems realistic — Mirotic figures to be less valuable to the Bulls than the draft pick a playoff team might give up next month for his services," he added.
Aside from Mirotić and Lopez, Haugh said 28-year-old wing Justin Holiday may be moved as well.
Trading away a player who has been playing as well as Mirotić may seem irrational to some. But the Bulls are unlikely to challenge for the title anyway this season, so they may as well acquire as many picks as possible with an eye toward the future.
Mirotić is averaging 18.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in under 26 minutes this season. He's also shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc, and 69 percent from the free-throw line.
