Nikola Mirotic should sue the Chicago Bulls and Bobby Portis

Nikola Mirotic needs to sue the Chicago Bulls and teammate Bobby Portis for getting punched in practice.

It’s October 17th, Two days before the Chicago Bulls play their first regular season game against the Raptors. The Bulls had practice and everything seemed to be fine.

It’s about 5:35 PM CT and I’m scrolling through my Twitter feed, seeing if anything interesting has happened. I continue to refresh my Twitter, and out of nowhere Shams Charania of Yahoo’s The Vertical tweeted that “Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic were involved in serious altercation in practice today, leaving Mirotic hospitalized and out indefinitely. Story coming.”

My first reaction was no freaking way. This can’t be true. I was seriously shocked. Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic fighting?? This has to be a fake account. I went to Shams Twitter profile to make sure the account was verified.

Once I saw that it was a verified account, I just started to laugh. I couldn’t believe what I just read. Shams reported that night that Portis and Mirotic got in a shoving altercation that ended with a “cheap shot” from Portis. Not only did Portis punch Niko, but he also sent him to the hospital.

According to multiple media outlets, Portis and Mirotic had a heated confrontation in practice. Both Niko and Portis were shoving each other all practice.

That night the Chicago Bulls released a statement about the incident

What stood out to me the most about that statement was: “Mirotić suffered a concussion and maxillary fractures. Surgery is likely required. Mirotić is out indefinitely.”

A concussion AND Maxillary fractures for Niko?? That’s some serious stuff. I’ve personally had several concussions before, and that just messes you up. You have a hard time focusing, and you get a lot of headaches. I also puked a lot. It’s not fun at all.

Bobby Portis was suspended for eight games by the Bulls for his actions.

Skip forward to October 27th, and more news came out about the Portis and Niko situation. If you thought that Niko and Portis were going to be friends or be teammates again, you were wrong.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Mirotic’s camp told the Bulls that either he or Portis need to go. According to the Chicago Tribune’s KC Johnson, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic are likely incapable of sharing a locker room.

Could this mess all been avoided?

Nikola Mirotic signed a two-year extension this offseason with the Bulls. It’s been reported by different media outlets that the Portis-Mirotic conflict had been brewing for a few seasons.

It’s no secret that these two players don’t like each other. Throughout training camp both players were competing for minutes and also for a starting spot.

I love when players compete. It’s brings the best out of everyone, but you can’t do what Bobby Portis did. It’s unacceptable. You never punch your teammate. It can’t happen.

Bulls Vice President John Paxson and several Bulls players admitted to the media that Niko and Portis have had previous confrontations in practice the last couple of seasons. I’m sorry but this could’ve been avoided.

The coaching staff allowed this to happen. They should’ve known that there was a chance that this incident could’ve happened. Both players have been going at it for the last couple of years. Did the coaching staff not realize that it was a matter of time before punches were going to get thrown? Come on now. The Bulls organization should be ashamed for what happened.

Bobby Portis being suspended for eight games is a joke

Bobby Portis apologized to his teammates for what he did. That’s just great. What he did crossed the line, and to suspend him for only eight games is just a joke. Nikola Mirotic might not play basketball anymore. The incident was so serious that Niko was sent to the hospital.

Niko suffered a concussion AND broken bones to his face. He will likely have surgery, and you are only going to suspend Portis for 8 bleeping games? Bulls said that they expected Niko to be out four to six weeks, but I guarantee you that he is going to be out longer. Bobby Portis needs to miss the same amount of games that Niko will miss. 

What does the future hold for both players?

Let’s start with Bobby Portis:  If I was the Bulls, I would do everything in my power to trade him. Bobby is a nice guy, but he has been a bust. He looked awful in the preseason. Bobby’s game is down in the post, but recently he has elected not to go down by the basket. He has shot too many threes and is just forcing too many shots. In the preseason, he was very sloppy with the ball, and defended very poorly.

For Nikola Mirotic, I would also do everything in my power to try to trade him. Niko is just not a very good NBA player. He struggles in a lot of areas of the game. Sometimes it’s very frustrating to watch him play.

Both Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis need to be traded. They simply just need a fresh start.

Now let’s get to the main point

If I was Nikola Mirotic, I would sue the Chicago Bulls and Bobby Portis. Niko can’t have surgery on his face till he recovers from his concussion. It’s been almost two weeks, and Niko still has a concussion.

Let’s not forget that Niko also has maxillary fractures. This stuff is no joke. It does serious damage to you physically and emotionally. The recovery is brutal.

Next: Lauri Markkanen the bright spot in ugly loss

The reason I would sue Bobby Portis is because he punched a teammate. That can’t happen in a work environment. The punch will keep Niko out for a long time. It will also mess with Niko emotionally for a long time.  

The reason I would sue the Chicago Bulls is pretty simple. This could’ve all been avoided. The Bulls knew for a long time that both players didn’t like each other, but did nothing about it. They should’ve stopped this before it crossed the line. It escalated because the team let it escalate.

Who said the Chicago Bulls are going to be boring this season? There is always drama with this team. Only the Bulls.