Longtime NBA power forward Nikola Mirotic, who has been back overseas since 2019, will remain in Europe for the immediate future. According to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia (Twitter link), the 6’10” big man has agreed to terms on a deal with Italian club Olimpia Milano after having spent the past four seasons as the best-compensated player in Europe with FC Barcelona.
According to Sportando, Mirotic has two years remaining on his deal with Barcelona. However, the Spanish team reportedly informed the forward that it intends to terminate that contract, as BasketNews.com relays.
Selected in the 2011 draft with the No. 23 pick, Mirotic logged major rotation minutes on the Bulls, Pelicans and Bucks from 2014-19. Instead of springing for a lucrative new contract in free agency that summer, he opted for a return to international play, where he had begun his career with Real Madrid in 2008.
Here’s more news and notes from around the basketball world:
- The EuroLeague, widely considered to be the second-most competitive basketball organization in the world, has officially named its new CEO: Paulius Motiejunas. According to BasketNews.com, EuroLeague shareholders unanimously voted for Motiejunas, who has served as the president and owner of EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas for a decade.
- After just one season with Spain’s Joventut Badalona, former NBA guard Kyle Guy will find a new home next season, per Eurohoops. Guy was selected out of Virginia with the No. 55 pick in 2019, and logged time with the Kings, Cavaliers, and Heat — plus their respective NBAGL affiliates — from 2019-22. He averaged 11.5 PPG on a .408/.345/.802 slash line across 34 contests in Liga ACB play.
- Spanish team Saski Baskonia is considering signing ex-Warriors point guard Nico Mannion, currently with Virtus Bologna, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 22-year-old out of Arizona appeared in just 30 NBA games with Golden State during the 2020/21 season, averaging 4.1 PPG, 2.3 APG nd 1.5 RPG in 12.1 MPG. Mannion, who would be a Warriors restricted free agent if he were to attempt a return to the NBA, averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.1 APG in the LBA with Virtus Bologna this past season.
Kyle Guy, Covid Heat legend
That Guy is more clutch than lebron
I bet Mirotic will come back when he’s about to retire. Portis is in his mind
I bet beating USA in the Olympics and sucker punching portis would help. Still waiting on you Morris to get even
As a Bulls fan, I always really liked Nikola Mirotic, and I thought he had alot of promise, but after “the punch” it was what I wasn’t hearing that made me think he probably deserved it.
After that, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t very well liked on the team, and I pretty much gathered it was due to a bit of self-centered behavior on Mirotic’s part.
I’d guess Bobby Portis wasn’t the only one on that team that wanted to punch Mirotic in the face, or at least that’s kind of what it sounded like to me. I think it also spoke volumes about who stayed on the team and who didn’t after that happened.
I actually miss Bobby Portis, and his fiery passion on the Bulls. Him, Omer Asik, Hardhat and Lunch pail Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Carlos Boozer, Richard Hamilton, R.Brewer, Pau Gasol, Ben Gordon, Brad Miller and heck even guys like Andres Nocioni, Kyle Korver, Keith Bogans, Tony Snell, CJ Watson, and then overpaying for Big Ben Wallace..
Also, I especially enjoyed watching fiesty little Captain Kirk Heinrich running around irritating people and getting under their skin with his solid defense and relentless never surrender attitude. He didn’t care whether it was LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Heinrich like white on rice TRYING his absolute best to D those guys up. Last but not least, I especially miss watching prime Derrick Rose flying around dunking on guys with seemingly an endless vertical.
D.Rose was one of the quickest PGs I’ve ever closely watched, and his first step was just absolutely filthy!! Plus, he had an almost unreal ability to contort his body, avoid contact, and he would finish at the rim in ways that would just leave you in awe. Those were easily some of my favorite recent memories as a Bulls fan, post Jordan era of course…lol Plus, then you cannot forget their “bench mob” mentality, and how their entire bench took on that persona. They took pride in being the second unit, and not only trying to keep the lead for the starters, but extending leads and making runs when they were down by playing like a bunch of junkyard dogs. It wasn’t ever really pretty, but they played some excellent defense and got the job done to hand it back over to the starters. It’s really a shame likely due to overusing Luol Deng and Noah, and then a combination of the injuries to D.Rose and trading away Jimmy Butler just crucified what was once a really fun and competitive team to watch…
Anyways, did anyone else get that same vibe from the Mirotic/Portis situation??