The Chicago Bulls have made their pitch to Carmelo Anthony and have now turned their eye to 2011 first-round draft pick and European All-Star Nikola Mirotic.
The Bulls traded for Mirotic's rights in 2011 at the No. 23 pick in the draft and since then he has developed into one of the best forwards in all of Europe. The 23-year-old Mirotic recently secured a buyout from Real Madrid which now makes it possible for him to make the jump to the NBA.
Mirotic looks like the Bulls answer at forward as they have shown signs they are set to move forward without current big man Carlos Boozer. The 6-foot-10 Mirotic is not considered a rookie by the NBA and would not be subject to the rookie pay scale. The Bulls will have to attempt to sign Mirotic to a legitimate long term contract as well as pay $600,000 toward his European buyout.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Bulls moving forward with Mirotic is a sign that the franchise knows they can only land Carmelo Anthony via a sign and trade deal that would include Boozer. It is believed that it will take $7-8 million per season to bring Mirotic over from Europe and the Bulls look willing to pay the price for the European star.
In his 97 games with Real Madrid, Mirotic averaged 10.8 points per game as well as 4.5 rebounds and a .498 field goal percentage.
As of last week, Bulls officials still didn't sound convinced Mirotic was coming over this summer.Goes to show how quickly things can change
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) July 4, 2014
[ESPN]
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