Chicago Bulls Free Agency: Nikola Mirotic Speculation

Nikola Mirotic was supposed to be something larger than life for the Chicago Bulls. He was the European superstar, poised to fill the shoes of players like Dirk Nowitzki. That isn’t how it played out.

Mirotic is a streak shooter, that’s spent plenty of time injured, played out of position, and recently also benched for a time.

In 2016-17, Niko was set to break out. The Bulls established frontcourt was gone, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah both gone, leaving the penultimate Bull, Taj Gibson, and Nikola Mirotic as the men with the chance to secure the job.

Teams

How many teams would be interested in a guy like Mirotic this summer? That’s such a hard question to answer. My fellow editor here at Pippen Ain’t Easy, Michael Whitlow, mentioned the Brooklyn Nets. From a cap and talent perspective, that makes plenty of sense.

I’m also wondering if the Sacramento Kings might not be an interested party. They’re going to have a lot of players to make decisions on, but adding a player who can move up and down the floor well and shoot at a moment’s notice seems like a really good fit for a Vivek Ranadive team.

If Nikola Pekovic is medically retired, the Minnesota Timberwolves and ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau might be a destination. He could provide shooting, has experience in the Thibs system and might pair nicely with Karl-Anthony Towns if he can continue to improve defensively.

Then there’s my favorite speculation, the San Antonio Spurs. It just seems like Niko would blossom in the Spurs system. He’s got the passing acumen to fit right in, can space the floor, would add a dimension of small ball if Gregg Popovich wanted to get weird with it. Speaking of Popovich, Mirotic has already played under Thibodeau, so I don’t think the fiery Pop will make him wilt.

Money

This is even harder for me to predict than potential teams. A lot of teams will have room, most will have a decent amount, but will they want to commit it to Mirotic over the next three or four years, unsure of what he’s going to turn into.

I think he could still turn into a very good player. Or he could just keep on keeping on as the Niko we already know and want to love, but don’t.

Though it’s a broad range, I believe that Danny Leroux and Nate Duncan pegged him somewhere around the $13-15 million range on the Dunc’d On Basketball Podcast, and that seems about right.

If Chicago to get him at a match of three more years for $8-10 million, I’d begrudgingly support the decision to bring him back for another try. However, if the market goes absolutely bananas and Niko gets offers of four years at $13 million or more, I hope beyond hope that even Gar Forman will brave enough to let him walk.

The decision to do so is going to be tough. Mirotic does average just over 10 points per game and he’s a career 35 percent 3-point shooter. Those are pretty solid numbers for a power forward that would just be reach his age 30 season when a new four-year deal would be ending. That’s really the sweet spot for grabbing a free agent. Mirotic could reasonably have a career that extends into his mid-30s, or even later. He’s got the potential to grab contracts and spot roles not unlike guys like Channing Frye, Mike Dunleavy, or Shane Battier late in his career.

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Of course, if Niko doesn’t improve and you’re paying a 10 PTS, 5.3 TRB, 1.2 AST player more than $15 million a season for each of the next four years, it’s going to be a long, unenjoyable ride for everyone.

The Bulls front office has continuously sent mixed signals. One of those signals is that they want to find out what they have with the young players. Another signal is that they want financial flexibility beyond 2017. They would be drastically limiting their ability to pursue top free agents if they have to re-sign Butler at market value and carry an albatross contract with Niko beyond 2019.

Of course, if they let him walk, we could be entering the Portis era in Chicago. Hold on to your hats.

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