The Chicago Bulls season got off to an inauspicious start when two days before their first game two of their young forwards, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic, got into an altercation at practice that ended with Portis punching Mirotic in the face, leaving him with facial fractures and a concussion.
The incident resulted in Mirotic possibly needing surgery and Portis being suspended for eight games. The details around the altercation remain hazy, but the general consensus is that the two players were battling for position and it escalated into some pushing and shoving with Portis eventually ending it with a punch.
On Saturday, Portis met with the media for the first time since the scuffle and apologized for punching Mirotic, and, while offering few details, insisted he felt they could move past the incident.
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/921851456701042694
“I’m wrong for what I did,” Portis said. “I want to publicly apologize to Niko. I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization, and most importantly my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is.”
Portis was asked what happened and if Mirotic instigated the incident, but wouldn’t bite, saying, “No, we’re just competing. Things happen.” This was a refrain he repeated multiple times.
As for whether he’s spoken to Mirotic, Portis said he’s reached out multiple times but is yet to hear back, but still says he thinks they’ll be able to move on.
“I’ve texted Niko. I’ve called him. He didn’t respond.”
Portis: "I want to make sure that me and Niko are cool and we can be teammates again. We just have to repair this relationship."
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) October 21, 2017
It’s clear Mirotic feels slightly different as of now considering he hasn’t responded to Portis’ efforts to reach out, which is understandable considering he’s currently dealing with facial fractures. It will be very interesting to see how this works moving forward and if they truly can co-exist as Portis insists they can, or if Chicago will eventually look to move one of them.
