NBA Rumors: Bulls committed to Nikola Mirotic that he will stay in Chicago

It’s well known that if the Chicago Bulls want to land Kevin Love they will almost certainly have to part with Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. In fact, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops has reported the Bulls have offered Mirotic, McDermott, along with Taj Gibson, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Love.

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However, Mirotic’s representatives don’t believe he’s being included in trade offers because the Bulls have committed in the past to keep Mirotic as a Bull, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune.

"Mirotic bought out his contract with Real Madrid of the Spanish League only after the Bulls committed to keeping him in Chicago, according to a source familiar with negotiations.(…)Perhaps that explains why, as of Thursday, Mirotic and his representatives remained under the impression the 6-foot-10 forward was not part of any “significant offer” the Bulls made for Love.(…)It would be stunning if a Bulls organization headed by Reinsdorf considered breaking a commitment to Mirotic, a player who trusted them implicitly, within reason."

It would certainly be a risky business move from the Bulls perspective to trade Mirotic, as it could lessen the trust other players and future free agents have for the team.

However, this is Kevin Love we’re talking about, a guy that averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds this past season and someone that could make the Bulls favorites in the Eastern Conference, so Chicago is likely tempted, especially if excluding Mirotic is a deal-breaker.

Mirotic averaged 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with Real Madrid this past year.