The Chicago Bulls have quite a mess on their hands. For the second time in three years, the Bulls have a player who literally got his face broken by a teammate. This situation with Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic is much different than a stray Taj Gibson elbow, though.
With a shade around 48 hours before the 2017-18 season opens for the Chicago Bulls against the Toronto Raptors, the Bulls had about as bad a situation as a franchise could have with a “physical altercation” between Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic at practice.
The initial report from The Vertical‘s Shams Charania on Tuesday evening mentioned that Mirotic was “taken to the hospital Tuesday after their shoving altercation during practice ended with an alleged surprise punch from Portis to Mirotic’s face.”
After the confirmations of Charania’s reports came in from a number of outlets around the situation, the Bulls’ official news release stated that Mirotic “suffered a concussion and maxillary fractures” and that surgery “is likely required.”
As you’d expect, Mirotic will be out indefinitely and Portis is subject to a major punishment of some sorts from the Bulls. They’re exploring their options and according to Chicago Tribune Bulls beat reporter K.C. Johnson, the Bulls are communicating with the league office about situations like Tuesday and that Portis “will be suspended for multiple games.”
Then, there’s a notable topic of discussion that ESPN NBA salary cap insider Bobby Marks tweeted out after Charania’s report on the Portis-Mirotic kerfuffle.
There is a clause in the player contract that allows a team to terminate a contract if a violent act is committed.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 17, 2017
Section 16 (ii) allows the team to terminate a contract if a physical attack is committed to any official or employee of the team.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 17, 2017
Sean Highkin, who covered the Bulls last season for The Athletic Chicago, also found the portion of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement that Marks discussed previously.
With the severity of Mirotic’s injury and the fact that the Bulls just signed Mirotic to seemingly a tryout one-year deal that has an option for next season, is it that crazy to think the Bulls would contemplate waiving Portis?
Getting Portis off their books may not be the most logical thing in the world, especially for a rebuilding franchise and the fact that Portis was a first-round pick of the Bulls just two years ago. However, it is and really should be a logical option for the Bulls. Sure, Michael Jordan punched Steve Kerr and Will Perdue during his Bulls days, but, like … that’s Michael Jordan. I can confirm that Bobby Portis is not Michael Jordan.
One of the main purposes of the Bulls’ rebuild was to see what the kids could do and Portis falls into that category. It’s too easy to give up on Portis, who really hasn’t grasped the NBA game after two strong seasons at Arkansas, winning the SEC Player of the Year award during his sophomore season in 2014-15. He’s only 22 years old for heaven’s sake.
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Like everyone else on the Bulls roster, Portis had been working tirelessly after the rebuild began in June with the Jimmy Butler trade and according to a source of Johnson’s, Portis was rewarded with a start in the preseason opener against the New Orleans Pelicans because of his hard work over the summer.
Answers and explanations will come about before the Bulls open their season on Thursday night, but how can Portis and Mirotic remain in the same locker room after this incident? Fights are fights. They can happen in any training camp/scrimmage/game. But, this situation feels a bit different. Portis literally broke Mirotic’s face with ONE punch and gave him a concussion.
If Portis stays on the Bulls roster — and it’s likely that he will — it’s safe to assume that things will be incredibly awkward for a while with Portis, Mirotic and everyone that saw what went down on Tuesday at practice.
Plus, there’s this:
This has been three years in the making, a source said. Mirotic has broken bones in his face, apparently instigated, and Portis punched him
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) October 17, 2017
A big talking point for Bulls players and personnel this summer was the “culture” and the change of pace with the fresh faces and the fresh start. That all feels like yesterday’s news already and the regular season hasn’t even started. That’s less than ideal, Bulls.
The Bulls had some questions about their power forward position coming into the regular season and this doesn’t help answer those questions. It’s likely that rookie Lauri Markkanen will get the start next to Robin Lopez. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg could look to go smaller, but there’s a real possibility that this happens.
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This season was already going to be hard for Portis, Mirotic and the Bulls. One punch just made the season even harder. There’s a solution that may make things even more difficult, but it might be for the better with everyone involved.