It wasn't too long ago when Chicago Bulls fans were absolutely enthralled with the potential that Nikola Mirotic possessed. But his play in the postseason and of late has been poor, to say the least, and people have definitely taken notice. To fuel the fire, perhaps the Bulls see this too, as he was taken out of the starting rotation for Taj Gibson. It makes one wonder, does this benching signal a potential trade before the NBA deadline?
Before Mirotic came to the Bulls, he was one of the best scoring big men overseas. Many thought he could come over and develop into a Dirk Nowitzki type of player.
Alas, he's been a disappointment.
Of course, Mirotic, head coach Fred hoiberg and Gibson have all said the right things when they were asked about the lineup switch. But that's all smoke and mirrors.
While the 2015-16 season started well for Niko, scoring 19, 18 and 22 points in the first three games while shooting over 50 percent, his averages have dropped sharply. He's shooting a horrid 39 percent and averaging just 11.7 points per game, and his lack of offensive contributions is compounded by the fact that he's adding next to no value defensively and is a turnover machine.
The fans are getting sick of it.
Nikola Mirotic is ass this year
— Tyler Bagwill (@tylerbagwill) December 10, 2015
Nikola Mirotic is such a frustrating player to watch. Get him off the court...especially in the 4th quarter #Bulls — Ryan McGushin (@mcgush44) December 10, 2015
Nikola Mirotic is incredibly over rated. He reminds me of Andres Nocioni. Good lord, get off the floor.
— Chase Miller (@chasemiller1993) December 10, 2015
So Nikola Mirotic is basically Andrea Bargnani, right? I mean, it's clear as day. — Robert Zeglinski (@ZigZags82) December 10, 2015
That last one really hurts...
But in all seriousness, Mirotic has been missing assignments all year long and looks lost on the defensive side of the ball. Why Hoiberg had him on the floor during the final seconds of that Phoenix Suns game a couple of nights ago is beyond me, as the rest of the Bulls forced a tough shot that was ultimately missed, but Mirotic made zero effort in boxing out his man. That gave the Suns an easy offensive board and putback with under a second remaining in the game.
Then again, last night, Mirotic was in for most of the fourth quarter, and during that time, the Bulls fell behind by double digits to the Boston Celtics. He even added a pathetic turnover trying to crossover Evan Turner and failed miserably.
Honestly, other than a great month of March last year where he averaged over 20 points per game, Mirotic has been a waste of minutes filled with pumpfakes, turnovers and lackluster defense.
Finally, it seems like maybe the Bulls are starting to realize this. The team has been doing poorly as of late, and they need to get back to what they do best: out hustle the other team and defend at a high level. Offensively, they'll get better with time in Hoiberg's system and especially once Derrick Rose takes the mask off and starts to hit more shots, but it's clear that Mirotic isn't what makes them or the offense go. They need to move him while they can still get a pretty good haul back, and at the same time give rookie Bobby Portis playing time, which could rejuvinate a team looking for energy.
If the Bulls do this, then the subtraction of Mirotic plus the additions of Portis getting more minutes, Mike Dunleavy coming back from injury and potentially bringing in a more consistent wing scorer from the trade of Niko should get the team back on track.
While that's a lot hope and ifs, it's clear that the Bulls need a change. This is the right move for the team. Will the front office recognize it and do that?
Only time will tell.
