The Chicago Bulls have a tough decision ahead, as their willingness to ship out forward Nikola Mirotic before this trade deadline comes to a close, can be impeded by their reluctance to let him go unless they get a first-round pick in return, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
Teams will deal carefully come February, but while there are several teams that could use a hot-shooting forward to stretch the floor, not many are willing to throw first-rounders at the Bulls, who are taking this rebuild from the ground up.
According to Johnson, management's word of doing what's best for the team will hold even through this period of the NBA season — making his move rather unlikely, despite the friction between him and fellow forward Bobby Portis after their ugly incident that started off the regular season.
Mirotic went from the hospital to being a flat-out scorcher on the court, averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 6.9 rebounds this season, including a 46.4 percent clip from beyond the arc.
A 6-foot-10, 26-year-old stretch four — Mirotic will be on the radars of NBA teams as this deadline approaches, but the Bulls will only let him go if an offer happens to blow them away.
Chicago recently got back star wing Zach LaVine, which will change things, according to how he responds as he is eased back into the rotation. The high-flying 22-year-old put up 14 points in his 19-minute debut while logging his first NBA start in a Bulls uniform on Saturday.
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