Chicago Bulls: Nikola Mirotic-to-Jazz trade makes sense; will it happen?
The Chicago Bulls could have a suitor for Nikola Mirotic in the Utah Jazz, but can the Bulls get the assets back that they desire?
At long last, the time to trade Nikola Mirotic away from the Chicago Bulls is drawing near.
No more torpedoing the tank and getting punched in the face by Bobby Portis for you, man. Well, I suppose the latter could still happen if he was on another team, but I digress.
The Chicago Bulls recently expressed that they still plan on trading Mirotic as soon as they can (January 15). Both his altercation with Portis, whom the team rallied around, and his recent stellar play sealed that weeks ago.
And they might just have found a potential landing spot for him in the Utah Jazz.
This blurb from Adrian Wojnarowski suggests that Mirotic at the very least would have interest in such a move.
"The Bulls are still planning to trade forward Nikola Mirotic, which can’t happen until Jan. 15 or without his permission, based on his contract. Mirotic has been intrigued with the Utah Jazz, whose coach, Quin Snyder, has a reputation for maximizing offensive talent.More from Da Windy City3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to NashvilleChicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agencyThe Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei OhtaniChicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidatesChicago White Sox News: Erick Fedde signs two-year deal"
As far as Mirotic is concerned, such a move would seem to make plenty of sense from that perspective. Furthermore, the Jazz could really use better scoring options from the perimeter than Joe Ingles and Jonas Jerebko (who are currently starting) to help Donovan Mitchell. Therefore, I could see some mutual interest here.
The question then becomes what it would cost the Jazz to get him from the Bulls.
Without a doubt, the Bulls would want the Jazz’ 2018 first-round pick, perhaps along with a role player like Alec Burks.
Would the Jazz, who currently sit at 16-24 (10th in Western Conference), consider giving up a potentially valuable young star next season for Mirotic, who could maybe help them in a surprise playoff run? And either way, do they think Mitchell’s emergence is enough to start building a winner on now?
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Ultimately, without the Bulls getting Utah’s first-rounder, I don’t think this deal happens. And the Jazz are in just a weird enough spot with a real need for someone like Mirotic to consider this move.
We’ll see what the next few days bring—the deadline is a week away, after all. But expect to see more reports of Mirotic-related talks between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz.