The Chicago Bulls will now be able to play Bobby Portis after he has now served his eight-game suspension following the altercation he got in with Nikola Mirotic in practice before the first game of the season.
The Bulls are in rebuilding mode and a player like Portis should certainly get a chance to play a big part in the rotation, however the Bulls are set on continuing to start rookie Lauri Markkanen for the time being.
Portis played in 64 games last season, his second year in the league. The Arkansas product averaged 6.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot 33.3 percent from three in 15.6 minutes per night.
Meanwhile, Markkanen has been the brightest spot for the young Bulls team averaging 16.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and shooting 42.6 percent from three in 32.0 minutes a night; a pretty solid start in the first seven games of his career.
The Portis-Mirotic incident only added to what was going to be a challenging season for the rebuilding Bulls. And now it will be interesting to see how Portis is received from his teammates and if there is any issue in terms of chemistry.
Mirotic will still be out a good deal longer while the Bulls (2-5) are looking to find some solid ground to build on this season.