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Latest On Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Bulls

October 18th, 2017 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of a physical altercation between Bulls power forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic, the team is expected to be without both players for several games in the near future. As we heard on Tuesday, Mirotic will likely miss a few weeks while he recovers from being punched by Portis, and his teammate is facing a certain suspension.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Portis has a call with the league office today to discuss the incident. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune indicates (via Twitter) that Portis will be suspended at some point after the Bulls conclude their communication with the NBA.

Mirotic, who has been released from the hospital, suffered two facial fractures and a concussion, and will have to wear a mask when he eventually returns to the court, says Johnson. As for Portis, Johnson tweets that the Arkansas alum is well-regarded for his work ethic and his commitment to the team, but he’ll face a multi-game suspension for his actions.

In his full report on the incident, Johnson cites several witnesses who say that “tensions heightened” between Portis and Mirotic during a team scrimmage. After exchanging words for a few minutes during play, Mirotic and Portis began shoving one another, and Mirotic “once moved in Portis’ direction,” per Johnson. Then Portis landed the lone punch.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes, NBA teams are eligible to apply for a hardship exception granting them an extra roster spot if they have four players on their roster out for at least three games. With Zach LaVine, Cameron Payne, and Mirotic now expected to miss significant time, Chicago could apply for that exception next week – after the team’s third game – assuming Kris Dunn also remains sidelined with his finger injury.

Nikola Mirotic Hospitalized After Altercation With Bobby Portis

October 17th, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

6:43pm: The Bulls are evaluating disciplinary options for Portis, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mayberry adds that the league office is also involved while Johnson tweets that the power forward will likely be suspended.

6:23pm: Nikola Mirotic was sent to the hospital after engaging in a physical altercation with teammate Bobby Portis during practice earlier today, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Shams adds that at the conclusion of the shoving match, Portis took an alleged “cheap shot” at Mirotic’s face, which resulted in the emergency care.

Mirotic suffered a concussion and multiple fractures in his face, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com tweets. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) hears that the power forward will be out “a few weeks.”

Bobby Marks of the Vertical (Twitter link) notes that league contracts contain a clause that allows a team to terminate a deal if a violent act is committed. I’d speculate that Portis faces some sort of discipline for the action, though no word of a suspension, fine or release has yet to trickle out.

Assuming Portis remains in Chicago, the team may need him to play extended minutes with his backup currently ailing. No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen is also a candidate to see additional court time.

Extension Talks With Zach LaVine Never Got Serious

October 17th, 2017 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Bulls and Zach LaVine‘s representatives remained in communication, the two sides never really got close to working out a contract extension for LaVine before Monday’s deadline, says Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. However, Goodwill reiterates what we’ve heard from other reporters, suggesting that the club has no intention of letting LaVine get away in restricted free agency next summer.

Bulls Claim Felder, Waive Eddie And Stone

October 16th, 2017 at 4:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have claimed point guard Kay Felder, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. They will waive swingman Jarell Eddie, league sources told Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chicago will also shed center Diamond Stone to reach the 15-man roster limit, Charania adds in another tweet.

The Cavaliers traded Felder along with veteran forward Richard Jefferson to the Hawks on Saturday in order to shed salary and create roster space. Atlanta then immediately waived both players.

Felder, a second-round pick in 2016, appeared in 42 regular-season games last season and averaged 4.0 PPG and 1.4 APG in 9.2 MPG. He had a $457K guarantee on his $1,312,611 salary for this season. There is a team option on his $1,544,951 contract for next season.

The Bulls have Kris Dunn and Jerian Grant as their top point guards but Cameron Payne was declared out for 3-4 months in September after undergoing foot surgery.

Eddie, 25, played for the Wizards and Suns over the last two seasons. He played sparingly in 26 games for Washington during the 2015/16 season.

Eddie then played for the G League’s Windy City Bulls before hooking on with Phoenix late last season. He saw action in five games with the Suns last season after signing a pair of 10-day contracts.

Though he signed a contract for $1,471,382, most of the money was non-guaranteed. He collected a couple of extra days’ salary by remaining on the roster through Saturday.

Chicago still has plenty of shooting guards and small forwards on the roster, including Paul Zipser, Denzel Valentine, Justin Holiday, David Nwaba and rookie Antonio Blakeney. Zach LaVine and Quincy Pondexter are still rehabbing from knee injuries.

Stone received a modest guarantee after signing with Chicago in September. Stone, who played his rookie season with the Clippers, was also waived by the Hawks after Atlanta acquired him in late July. Robin Lopez, Christiano Felicio and rookie Lauri Markkanen are the main options at center.

Zach LaVine Unlikely To Sign Extension Today

October 16th, 2017 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune suggested over the weekend that it’s a matter of when – not if – the Bulls lock up Zach LaVine to a new contract. It appears the “when” won’t be today though. Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) hears from a source that a rookie scale extension for LaVine is “not likely.”

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Valentine, Rotation, Arcidiacono

October 15th, 2017 at 2:43pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Bulls acquired Zach LaVine in a June trade despite a torn left ACL he suffered last February, putting his 2017/18 debut on hold. The two-time dunk contest champion is currently rehabbing and Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, that LaVine’s recovery is on schedule.

“Zach is coming along great,” Hoiberg said Thursday. “He’s been really good, very vocal with our players. He’s ahead of schedule. He’s cleared to do more movement. He’s not cleared for contact yet, but he’s moving around in unpredictable movements now, which is important.”

LaVine, still just 22 years old, could become an important piece of the Bulls’ future. Before the season-ending injury last season, LaVine was enjoying his best year to date, averaging 18.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 48 games. If he recovers from knee surgery — which has been known to zap players’ explosiveness — without issue, LaVine eventually re-signing with Chicago would be a question of when, not if, Johnson writes in a separate article.

Check out other news surrounding the Bulls below:

Denzel Valentine will not the Bulls’ backup point guard, Hoiberg told reporters, including Johnson (via Twitter).
In a separate tweet, Johnson notes that the Bulls are expected to use a 10-man rotation. Johnson adds that the injured Paul Zipser, who has been dealing with a back ailment, will likely start in Thursday’s season opener.
Ryan Arcidiacono is the expected backup point guard for the Bulls in the season opener, per Johnson. The Bulls reporter adds that 45 days of NBA service on two-way deals does not start until Oct. 23., allowing the Bulls to keep Arcidiacono on the roster a while longer.

Roster Moves Still Required For Four NBA Teams

October 15th, 2017 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

After Saturday’s flurry of roster moves around the NBA, most of the league’s 30 teams are all set for the regular season. Heading into opening night, teams are allowed to carry up to 17 players — no more than 15 on their respective NBA rosters, plus an additional two on two-way contracts.

Saturday didn’t represent the deadline for teams to set the regular season rosters, but it was the last day for a club to waive a player on a fully non-guaranteed contract and avoid having his salary count against the cap. That’s why most teams have already made the necessary moves to ensure their rosters are regular-season-ready.

However, as our roster count page shows, there are four teams who will need to make at least one more trade, cut, or other roster move before they’ll be set for the season. These moves are due by Monday afternoon.

Here are those four teams:

Chicago Bulls

NBA contracts: 16 (13 fully guaranteed)
Two-way contracts: 2
The Bulls still have three players on non-guaranteed contracts — Jarell Eddie, David Nwaba, and Diamond Stone. Eddie looked like the most logical candidate to be waived, so it’s somewhat odd that Chicago didn’t make that move on Saturday. Of course, the Bulls’ team salary is well below the salary floor, so if they end up paying Eddie or Nwaba for a couple days of service, it’s hardly the end of the world. Stone already has a $50K guarantee on his contract, so he could be waived on Monday without it affecting the Bulls’ bottom line.

Dallas Mavericks

NBA contracts: 16 (12 fully guaranteed)
Two-way contracts: 1
The Mavericks are already at 17 players, so the most logical move would be to convert Gian Clavell‘s NBA contract into a two-way deal and avoid waiving anyone. Dallas has held off on that move, however, with Clavell drawing some trade interest. The club will have to make a call on him – or another player with a full or partial guarantee – by Monday.

Memphis Grizzlies

NBA contracts: 17 (16 fully guaranteed)
Two-way contracts: 2
No team has more work to do before Monday than the Grizzlies, who will have to trade or cut multiple players and may end up eating a decent chunk of guaranteed money. The most likely scenario would see the team waiving Jarell Martin and perhaps Andrew Harrison (or Wade Baldwin), while retaining Mario Chalmers, who only has a modest $25K guarantee. Martin, Harris, and Baldwin all have full guarantees, which is why Memphis wasn’t under pressure to make any decisions on Saturday.

Utah Jazz

NBA contracts: 16 (15 fully guaranteed)
Two-way contracts: 2
Like the Grizzlies, the Jazz appear set to waive a player on a fully guaranteed salary, which is why they could afford to wait until Monday rather than getting something done on Saturday. Raul Neto, the team’s lone non-guaranteed player, appears safe, meaning the decision will likely come down to Joel Bolomboy vs. Royce O’Neale. Both players have fully guaranteed minimum salaries.

Bulls Release Bronson Koenig, Jaylen Johnson

October 13th, 2017 at 10:14pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bulls have waived Bronson Koenig and Jaylen Johnson, the team announced in a press release. After the announcement, the club’s roster sits at 18.

Koenig, who also had a brief tenure with the Bucks this offseason, was signed by the Bulls in late September. The sharp-shooting guard out of Wisconsin, however, will return to the free agent market as a potential affiliate player of the Chicago’s G League club.

Johnson served a slightly longer stretch with the Bulls, having signed on a week earlier in September. He went undrafted as an early entrant candidate out of Louisville last June.

Poll: Chicago Bulls’ 2017/18 Win Total

October 13th, 2017 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls didn’t have a great 2016/17 season, but the team did manage to grind its way to a 41-41 record, and then took a 2-0 lead in the first round over the Celtics before Rajon Rondo suffered a season-ending injury and the tide turned.

That opening-round loss was the first in a series of events that turned the Bulls from an inconsistent .500 team to a club expected to lose more games than any other NBA team in 2017/18. Rondo is gone. Dwyane Wade is gone. And most notably, Jimmy Butler is gone.

The Bulls’ package for Butler – widely panned at the time of the trade – may work out for the team in the long run, but Lauri Markkanen is a rookie, Kris Dunn is a second-year point guard coming off a poor rookie season, and Zach LaVine will be sidelined to start the season as he continues to recover from an ACL injury. The trio is unlikely to have a significant impact in 2017/18.

There are a few other interesting pieces on the Chicago roster, including newly re-signed power forwards Nikola Mirotic and Cristiano Felicio. But a starting lineup that currently features Jerian Grant, Justin Holiday, Paul Zipser, Mirotic, and Robin Lopez won’t inspire much fear in the hearts of opponents.

Oddsmakers’ expectations for the Bulls are low, with offshore betting site Bovada putting the team’s over/under at just 22 wins. We’ll bump that up by a half-game for the purposes of our poll in order to avoid a whole number.

What do you think? Are the Bulls headed for their first 60-loss season since the post-Michael Jordan years in the early 2000s, or can the club get to 23 wins even after overhauling its roster this offseason? Vote below and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

How many games will the Bulls win in 2017/18?

Under 22.5 50.08% (310 votes)

Over 22.5 49.92% (309 votes)

Total Votes: 619

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Previous over/under voting results:

Western Conference:

Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
Houston Rockets: Over 55.5 (65.57%)
San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
Oklahoma City Thunder: Over 50.5 (71.77%)
Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 48.5 (55.69%)
Denver Nuggets: Under 45.5 (50.44%)
Los Angeles Clippers: Over 43.5 (60.7%)
Portland Trail Blazers: Over 42.5 (56.3%)
Utah Jazz: Over 41.5 (55.94%)
New Orleans Pelicans: Over 39.5 (65.26%)
Memphis Grizzlies: Over 37.5 (53.43%)
Dallas Mavericks: Under 35.5 (54.95%)
Los Angeles Lakers: Over 33.5 (50.4%)
Phoenix Suns: Over 28.5 (50.41%)
Sacramento Kings: Over 27.5 (56.18%)

Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%)
Toronto Raptors: Over 48.5 (64.21%)
Washington Wizards: Over 47.5 (71.29%)
Milwaukee Bucks: Over 47.5 (63.88%)
Miami Heat: Over 43.5 (55.39%)
Charlotte Hornets: Over 42.5 (51.07%)
Philadelphia 76ers: Under 41.5 (53.37%)
Detroit Pistons: Over 38.5 (51.95%)
Orlando Magic: Under 33.5 (75.24%)
Indiana Pacers: Under 31.5 (54.85%)
New York Knicks: Under 30.5 (57.87%)
Brooklyn Nets: Over 27.5 (66.33%)
Atlanta Hawks: Over 25.5 (51.44%)

Team Will Be Patient With Injuries; Expected Starting Lineup

October 12th, 2017 at 4:08pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bulls finally embraced a rebuild this offseason so there will be no shortage of attention paid to how they manage each and every asset from this point forward. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the club will be particularly patient with injuries to key young players considering that now more than ever the club can afford to lose ball games.

Between the lingering effects of Zach LaVine‘s 2016/17 ACL injury and preseason setbacks to both Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn, the new look Bulls are awfully banged up ahead of the 2017 season opener and may not even see the court together until as late as December.

“I think it’s just about being patient,” Dunn, acquired in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler from the Bulls to Minnesota, said. “Lauri, he was in Finland, so there was a lot of strain on his back from all the games they played [in the EuroBasket tournament]. Zach, with his injury, you try to take it slow with him because he’s a big piece to this team. And me, I’m just slowly trying to get back. So it’s just a slow thing.”

To that effect, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg has said that his starting lineup when the season begins on Tuesday will consist of Jerian Grant, Justin Holiday, Nikola Mirotic, Paul Zipser and Robin Lopez.