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Portis start Bulls career with apology

A few minutes after the Bulls made their pick in Thursday's NBA draft, a four-year-old tweet composed by a 16-year-old Bobby Portis began circulating on the Internet.

The tweet was sent during the 2011 Eastern Conference finals and contained an anti-Derrick Rose, pro-Miami Heat message. Typical high school stuff, but it took on new meaning once Portis was chosen by the Bulls with the No. 22 pick.

Before the night was over, Portis tweeted a response: “Bulls Nation sorry for the tweets I sent 4 years ago. I was a boy then. I'm a man now. And a Bull. D-Rose, Pau, what kinda donuts y'all like?”

Portis will be officially introduced by the Bulls on Monday and he shouldn't bother bringing doughnuts since most of veterans won't be around. It's already obvious Portis is not afraid to speak his mind.

At the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago last month, Portis said his role model as a player is Kevin Garnett. Asked if he gets as crazy on the court as Garnett does, Portis said this:

“I'm very crazy,” Portis said in May. “I play angry. I play mad. I play very angry because every game, I sit in the locker room and I envision that the other player on the team slapped my mom. That's why I get mad, and now I've got to get you because you slapped my mom.”

The thing is, that's a real story from Portis' life. He grew up in tough circumstances in Little Rock, Arkansas. In an espn.com story, Portis said when he was 15, he actually did stand in the way of an angry boyfriend who tried to strike Portis' mother, Tina Edwards.

Stories about Portis often mention he brought too much anger to the basketball court in his younger days and had to learn to control his emotions. He credits former Arkansas star Corliss Williamson, nicknamed “Big Nasty” in his playing days, for being a mentor. Williamson is now an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings but coached at small colleges in Arkansas until 2013.

“I bring something to the basketball court that most 20-year-olds don't bring,” Portis said in May. “I play with a sense of urgency. I play with a log on my shoulder — not a chip, a log — simply because I feel like I'm one of the best-kept secrets in this draft.”

Extra big man a plus:

The Bulls were surprised Bobby Portis was available at No. 22, but it might turn out to be an opportune pick. The Bulls have plenty of big men on the roster, but Pau Gasol is about to turn 35, there are concerns about Joakim Noah's knee and Taj Gibson had surgery on his left ankle this week.

Some might read the addition of Portis as a sign one of the veterans will be traded. Anything is possible, but the Bulls won't rush into anything until they see what Portis can do against NBA competition. He was drafted No. 22, not No. 2.

“One of the strengths of our team is the depth we have on the front line,” general manager Gar Forman said Thursday. “Bobby will have to earn any minutes he gets. We took him because we think he has a chance to be a player, whether it's this year or down the road.

“We do like to add guys that are going to come to practice every day and push some of the starters or some of the veterans. We feel pretty confident he's going to bring it every day.”

Forman also said he anticipates Gibson being 100 percent healthy by October.

Hoiberg reviews video:

New Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has been spending his time watching video from last season and shared his impressions.

“It's a team, from top to bottom, that has the pieces, I think, to compete for a championship,” Hoiberg said. “Tom Thibodeau did a great job with that team. … I'm just looking to build on what's been put in here the last couple of years.

“We're just trying to figure out exactly what we want to try to do offensively to play to the strengths of our team. We're coming up with a lot of those ideas. We'll have a chance to experiment with some of those with our summer-league team. It's been fun to sit down with our staff and go over film.”

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.

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