Nikola Mirotic will not have surgery following his dustup teammate Bobby Portis a couple of weeks.
This sounds a little weird, considering the 26-year-old forward suffered facial fractures that has him sidelined indefinitely, but the possibility has been on the table from the start. And on Monday, both Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg and vice president of basketball operations Gar Forman confirmed Mirotic wouldn’t be going under the knife, per the Chicago Tribune‘s K.C. Johnson:
The Bulls‘ Nikola Mirotic will not have surgery to repair his facial fractures, a possibility the Tribune reported last week.
Coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed that news the day after executive vice president John Paxson told WBBM-AM 780 the same.
The latest seems to support a report from last week that stated Mirotic would like to be traded from the Bulls following his altercation, and the preceding buildup to it, with Portis. He cannot be traded until January 15, but the situation has continued to deteriorate past the point of no return, according to Johnson:
Whatever happens, this development speaks to the widespread belief surrounding the situation that Mirotic and Portis can’t co-exist moving forward. In fact, one source said the situation is playing out toward a “me or him” trade demand.
Talks likely won’t heat up, if they gain traction at all, until around the New Year, when Mirotic’s restriction is about to be lifted. The Bulls also have the option of trying to move Portis if they’re higher on Mirotic’s future.
Trading the latter figures to be a complicated venture, and not just because of his restriction. He’s recovering from facial fractures and has veto power built into his current deal. Teams won’t be tripping over themselves to acquire a stretch 4 who hasn’t yet proven to actually be a stretch 4 when factoring in all those circumstances. Someone will take a shot, if only because his new club has the ability to exercise a $12.5 million team option for his services next season. But the Bulls aren’t about to get much in return—particularly if his next team views Mirotic’s contract as a way of clearing salary in advance of free agency.
