NBA Trade Rumors 2018: Chicago Bulls' Nikola Mirotic's Landing Spots Could Be Utah, Detroit or Portland
In about three weeks, the National Basketball Association will hit another important schedule: the trade deadline. And according to rumors, the Chicago Bulls are still actively shopping Nikola Mirotic, with possible deals to be made with the Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, or Portland Trail Blazers.
On Monday, Jan. 15, the Chicago Bulls officially started negotiating with other teams to trade out the 6-foot-10 power forward from Spain.
Even before Mirotic was officially open for a trade, ESPN reported that the player "has been intrigued" with Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder's strategy of giving enough playing time to ballers whose strength was in their offense.
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A couple of league sources also confirmed, according to the Chicago Tribune, that the Utah front office has likewise "expressed preliminary interest" in acquiring Mirotic. The question for Utah is whether they are ready to pay the price for him, which includes a first-round pick with a relatively shorter contract.
Meanwhile, another team that has shown interest in acquiring Mirotic is the Detroit Pistons -- a report that has been confirmed by known NBA reporter Marc Stein of the New York Times and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. A third team, the Portland Trail Blazers, is also rumored to have expressed their interest in acquiring 26-year-old player.
Sun-Times, a Chicago-based publication, also added to the mix of Mirotic-related reports that the player was equally looking forward to be traded by the Bulls. It mentioned that his representatives had told the Bulls' executives which team the player hopes to be traded to.
It is not surprising that Mirotic appears to be very willing to leave the team. It can be recalled that he reportedly requested to be traded soon after his altercation with teammate Bobby Portis. The latter threw punches that sent Mirotic to the hospital where he needed to be treated for broken facial bones and a concussion.
Though the Chicago front office has always entertained Mirotic's request, the team reportedly made it clear that he would not be traded solely because of his issue with Portis.
The trade deadline is on Feb. 8.
