There he was, Nikola Mirotic going through morning shootaround with his teammates at Portland’s Moda Center as if there wasn’t a storm of confusion swirling around.
Mirotic plans to play against the Trail Blazers unless something more develops, but from the Bulls’ standpoint, they’ve done their part in accommodating Mirotic. Even though Lauri Markkanen is out for personal reasons, Mirotic won’t start; Paul Zipser will.
After admitting he got pulled off the floor before Tuesday’s practice in anticipation of a trade, he wouldn’t admit what made him hit the pause button on a move that could send him to New Orleans and end this weird saga of a season.