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Why the Chicago Bulls should keep Nikola Mirotic in the rebuild

By Willie Lutz

CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 25: Nikola Mirotic #44 of the Chicago Bulls and Cristiano Felicio #6 celebrate after scoring during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on February 25, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Bulls defeated the Cavaliers 117-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 25: Nikola Mirotic #44 of the Chicago Bulls and Cristiano Felicio #6 celebrate after scoring during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on February 25, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Bulls defeated the Cavaliers 117-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Here we are in day … well, 100,082 … of the NBA offseason. The Chicago Bulls looked rough in the Las Vegas Summer League, but a little help could be on the way back home. For the sake of the organization, Nikola Mirotic needs to come home on a new contact.

Although a Nikola Mirotic reunion has long seemed inevitable, it hasn’t come without some whispered thoughts.

The 6-foot-10 Montenegrin continues his offseason training the Bulls’ facilities.

However, as it stands to the present day, Mirotic is still a restricted free agent. The market has dried up and Mirotic may not be getting the payday he once thought he may be getting.

Sooner than later, it’s time for GarPax to throw a contract on the table so the forward can get to regular work.

Using statistics alone, it makes tremendous sense to get a deal in place. Over 70 games in 2017, Mirotic averaged 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. He also shot 41.3 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from 3.

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Obviously, Chicago fans like seeing a better percentage of shots drop in the rim. However, despite the low conversion rate from 3, he lead the team with 1.8 makes from beyond the arc per contest.

There’s no indication that Mirotic is making an exodus from Chicago, which is the right logic. Consider Lauri Markkanen, who the Bulls selected No. 7 in the NBA Draft, needs help. Mirotic, who knows Fred Hoiberg‘s Hoiball system, is the perfect somebody to set him straight.

In today’s NBA, it’s increasingly more common to find 6-foot-10 Europeans who can shoot the rock. Fortunately for the Bulls, they’ve had one of them for the past three seasons. This rare commodity is a potential huge piece to help make Markkanen a better player.

Mark me as one who’d like to see Mirotic and Markkanen on the floor at the same time. They’re both big fellas who can knock down shots. That scares me if I’m trying to match up with the Bulls in the future.

Who knows? With so much small ball in today’s game, towers with a jump shot seems to be an obvious game changer.

Next: Bulls fans put up #FireGarPax billboard in downtown Chicago

Shut up, give Mirotic $45 million over three years, 32 minutes a game and get this show on the road.

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