Bulls officially begin wait for Mirotic

General manager Gar Forman couldn't talk about Nikola Mirotic on draft night, because the trade to acquire his rights was not yet official.

Now it is.

The Bulls ended up trading the No. 28 and 43 picks, with cash, to Minnesota for the No. 23 selection. Mirotic, 20, is a multiskilled 6-foot-10 forward from Montenegro built in the mold of Denver forward Danilo Gallinari.

Mirotic is under contract with Real Madrid and not expected to join the Bulls for several years. In the meantime, he's in a nice spot to develop as a player.

Real Madrid reached the Euroleague Final Four this spring with Mirotic playing meaningful minutes. The Spanish ACB league is widely considered second-best in the world behind the NBA.

"If you look back historically, it's very unusual for players of that age to be playing such a significant role at that level at this stage of their development," Forman said. "Our feeling was he's a definitely lottery-type talent. He still needs to get stronger physically, which I think will come with maturity.

"We feel he fits how we want to play. We feel he fits Derrick Rose because of his ability to space the floor (with 3-point shooting). In speaking with him, it's his dream to at some point play in the NBA."

Forman didn't want to take a guess as to when Mirotic might be able to join the Bulls, but it appears to be at least two or three years away.

Lockout seems imminent:

When the Jimmy Butler news conference ended Monday, it seemed to mark the unofficial end of business for the Bulls.

Unless something unexpected happens, the NBA will be in lockout mode on July 1 and it seems very possible the start of next season will be delayed. During the 1998-99 lockout, the shortened season didn't begin until February.

Once the lockout takes effect, players won't be allowed to use the Berto Center for workouts or have contact with the coaching staff.

Butler said he might work out at the IMG Academy in Florida or join former Marquette teammates Wes Matthews and Lazar Hayward in Los Angeles.

"Never take a day off, like I always say," Butler said. "Just prepare for the NBA season."

Asked if he'll miss working with the players in the gym this summer, coach Tom Thibodeau was either wildly optimistic or didn't want to risk being fined for commenting about the labor negotiations.

"I'm assuming everything's going to go as usual. That's how I'm approaching it," Thibodeau said. "This is the off-season. You do everything you normally do to get ready for the next season. You study, reflect, prepare. That's all you can do and hope everything works out."

Waiting to guard Wade:

Jimmy Butler thinks he'll be able to learn from former Marquette players now in the NBA, such as Portland's Wes Matthews.

But what about former Marquette guard Dwyane Wade, now an archrival with the Miami Heat. Does he consider Wade a friend or enemy?

"A little bit of both," Butler said with a laugh. "He's a great player. I'm hoping to help shut him down in the future. He did go to Marquette, so I guess we've got a little bit in common.

"He's a great person. He always comes back and talks to us just like he played with us."