Chicago Bulls' Portis breaks silence after altercation
Bobby Portis is back with the Bulls, at least during practices. Nikola Mirotic is healing from injuries suffered in Tuesday's practice altercation.
No one is quite sure how this is going to work when the suspension ends and the injuries heal.
Portis spoke to reporters a few hours before Saturday's home opener at the United Center against San Antonio. It was his first comments since throwing a punch in practice that sent Mirotic to the hospital with facial fractures and a concussion. The Bulls suspended Portis for eight games, while Mirotic is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
One of the first questions everybody has is if Portis and Mirotic can coexist as teammates. Portis thinks so, but said there hasn't been any communication between the two.
"I've texted Niko, and I called him," Portis said. "He didn't respond."
Bulls guard Justin Holiday said Friday he's not sure there's much anyone can do to get Portis and Mirotic back on good terms. It will be up to the parties involved to sort out the violent altercation.
"Hopefully at some point those guys will get together," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said before the game. "They're going to have to in order to move past it. Hopefully it happens soon. It's all I can say about it."
Portis apologized to his teammates right away. He made the public apology Saturday and said he would take the suspension "like a man." He wants to apologize personally to Mirotic, but that hasn't happened yet.
Mirotic was seen outside the Advocate Center on Friday, a few hours after practice ended. It's not known if he went inside or interacted with any teammates,
Portis and Hoiberg were asked about the possibility of legal action, but that seems unlikely. Mirotic will make $12.5 million this season and Portis $1.5 million. If the Bulls decide one of these players needs to go, it will be much easier to move Portis.
"I'm wrong for what I did. I want to publicly apology to Niko," Portis said. "I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization, and most importantly my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is."
There hasn't been a detailed explanation of what happened. Multiple witnesses suggested both players were at fault and a few minutes before the punch, Portis and Mirotic were in each other's faces and separated by assistant coach Randy Brown.
Mirotic and Portis competed throughout preseason for the starting power forward slot, which Mirotic won. The two battled in practice every day and things seemed to boil over on Tuesday.
Asked if Mirotic instigated the fight or delivered a two-handed shove, Portis declined to answer.
"We just competed and that's what it was," he said. "Things happen. I can't change the past. But at the same time, we're just competing and everybody's competing. It's a new culture that we're trying to build. I'm sad that this happened, but it did. I'm just trying to repair my relationship with everybody."
The Bulls are essentially in a holding pattern now. Portis' suspension is scheduled to end on Nov. 7 at Toronto, while Mirotic may not play until December. At some point, they'll need figure things out between them.
"It hasn't been arranged, but I'm pretty sure we'll have to talk it out," Portis said. "And I'm pretty sure it will be a gentle conversation. And I'm pretty sure that we can get past this.
"Going forward, I want to make sure that me and Niko are cool and that we can be teammates again. And I'm pretty sure we can. We just have to repair this relationship."