Chicago Sun-Times Bulls reporter Joe Cowley appeared on the Bernstein & Goff Show on 670 The Score this afternoon, and he shed more light on where the fractured locker room stands after the altercation between Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis last month.
There haven’t been any developments regarding a possible reconciliation between the two. The status quo remains: Mirotic is demanding that either he or Portis be traded. Niko can’t be traded until January 15, and Bobby’s trade value is next to nothing. Meanwhile, Mirotic has resumed light physical activity at the team’s practice facility but is still several weeks away from a potential return as his facial fractures heal. Portis has two games remaining of his eight game suspension.
Coach Fred Hoiberg is doing a commendable job of dancing around questions related to the ongoing feud between two of his players. All he’s willing to say is that the team’s medical staff is focused on getting Mirotic healthy. Fred did say that he’s been texting with Niko, who expressed to his coach that he’s happy to be lightly working out again. But that’s it.
As for the rest of the team? Veteran leader Robin Lopez has communicated with Mirotic a few times, but hasn’t shared details of those conversations. He’s trying to keep the locker room together and focused on each game. But Cowley said on 670 The Score that the younger Bulls players aren’t necessarily awaiting Niko’s return with bated breath.
Taking Sides
When it comes to who was at fault in the dramatic – and quick – fight between Portis and Mirotic, it gets a little complicated.
“There’s not a lot of guys in the locker room that thought, ‘Man, Bobby, how could you do that?’ They get it.” – Joe Cowley
Obviously punching your teammate is never a good idea, and Bobby should rightfully take the blame and responsibility for doing so. Some Bulls fans believe his suspension should’ve been longer, perhaps even forcing Bobby to sit until Niko is cleared to return. But that’s not how the Bulls front office saw it, and that’s not how most of the players saw it either.
Bulls VP John Paxson repeatedly made it know in his comments after the incident that Mirotic was not innocent. Both players were jawing at each other and pushing. It was Niko who ultimately charged violently at Portis, who proceeded to knock him out with one punch.
Then there’s the young Bulls who spent their summer working hard, trying to prove to the organization that they deserved minutes. According to Cowley, it wasn’t just Portis – who lost the chance at a starting job when Niko signed his new contract at the midnight hour – who was miffed by Niko’s absence this summer. Portis was putting the work in at organized team workouts and scrimmages while Mirotic went through his own offseason program. Yes, he was around the Advocate Center sometimes. But he wasn’t participating in team activities and he kept his distance from teammates.
That rubbed a lot of the young Bulls the wrong way. Those feelings worsened when Mirotic claimed the starting power forward job after signing his new contract. According to Cowley, many of Niko’s teammates thought that was unfair and undeserved.
So what does this mean? Look, it’s unrealistic to expect players to come out and trash one of their teammates to the media, or even openly take sides in a feud like this. They’ll try to put a positive spin on it. Or, in Hoiberg’s case, ignore the question completely. But if you read between the lines, it’s becoming clearer that these young rebuilding Bulls aren’t keen on getting Mirotic back in the fold.
If it truly is a “him or me” situation, Niko looks like the odd man out. The Bulls keep talking about building a positive culture and how important that is to the rebuild. If they want their young underdog players to get along with one another in the locker room, Mirotic needs to be the one to leave.
Until then – then being January 15 – this mess will continue to get media attention and eat away at the team’s focus of developing these young players.
