The Chicago Bulls have cooled off after winning 9 of 11 games and now find themselves at 14-27 on the year and losers of two-straight.
With the NBA Playoffs an unlikely scenario for the Bulls, the focus shifts back to the NBA Lottery and putting themselves in a position to land one of the top prospects in the 2018 NBA Draft.
That could mean adding an additional draft pick to help speed up the rebuild and that pick might just come from a trade for Nikola Mirotic.
On Tuesday, NBA writer Marc Stein reported that the Utah Jazz have shown interest in acquiring Mirotic from the Bulls and they aren’t the only team. Stein also lists the Detroit Pistons as a team showing interest:
The Pistons have joined Utah in expressing trade interest for Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 9, 2018
The Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson confirmed the report, adding in that the Portland Trailblazers could be a team to watch out for. He also dropped a nugget that the Bulls are looking to land a first round pick for Mirotic.
Can confirm Pistons have shown preliminary interest in Mirotic, per source. @TheSteinLine 1st. Also told Portland could join mix with Jazz and Pistons. Bulls motivated to get 1st round pick for Niko.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 9, 2018
After missing the start of the season due to an altercation with Bobby Portis, Mirotic came out hot as the Bulls started winning games. The 26-year-old Mirotic is averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game along with 7 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
His stock is as high as it has ever been and the Bulls can officially trade him beginning Jan. 15 based terms of his contract.
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