Worldwide Threekola: Collapsed Trade Continues Season of Nikola

It’s hard to believe that Nikola Mirotic could be more of a major plot line to this season than he already was. Then again, this is the 2017–18 Bulls. No story is ever truly done.

As Tuesday moved into the afternoon, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago reported that the Bulls were going to trade Mirotic to the New Orleans Pelicans for Omer Asik and a first-round draft pick. For half an hour, there was rejoicing throughout. A Bench Mob member was returning, albeit to sit on the bench because he’s averaging career lows across the board and comes with a substantial contract. But the Bulls had one more asset for their future. Coupled with the four-game losing streak, the rebuild was back on track.

Not so fast, said Adrian Wojnarowski. It was time to drop a “Woj Bomb” and tell everyone the trade wasn’t completed after all. Mirotic himself appeared to be the cause of it.

Per the two-year deal with a Bird provision the Bulls signed him to in August, Mirotic has a $12.5 million team option for next season. He wants that guaranteed. If a trading partner won’t pony up, Mirotic has to approve the deal. The Pelicans have not committed to paying him beyond this season, so it’s his call on whether or not he goes to Bourbon Street.

There’s also the matter of how both sides are handling this from a business perspective. An approved trade without the Bulls picking up the option would cause the Bird rights to go bye-bye. The Pelicans would then have to use a trade exception to sign him as a free agent, which can’t come until they decline his option. Basically, no one wants to lose money.

Will Mirotic make more headlines in Chicago before he’s finally shipped out, if at all? If he’s not getting punched in the face by Bobby Portis, he’s throwing the tank off the rails by emerging as a team leader. The season is supposed to be about how the assets acquired for Jimmy Butler are developing. But no matter how much we hear about Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn making the Rising Stars Challenge or Zach LaVine returning after his ACL rehab, everything comes right back to Mirotic.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, the Bulls are using Mirotic’s career year as a bargaining chip. They are right to demand nothing less than a first-round pick. And the Pelicans could use him in DeMarcus Cousins’ absence.

We still can’t ignore that whether a good or bad thing is going on with Mirotic, negative vibes and ridicule persist throughout the fan base. Many people laugh over a practice skirmish, cry that he’s causing the Bulls to win “too many” games and get angry that he’s supposedly holding the franchise hostage by not signing off on this trade. Never mind that he’s not always in control of the circumstances surrounding him.

The only option is to conclude that Mirotic has become a sacrificial lamb for Bulls Nation. So many fans are upset with how the Bulls have done business that they’ve fully bought into the “lose today for a better tomorow” route the Cubs, Astros and 76ers made sexy. When one person threatens to throw that plan out of whack, here come the torches and pitchforks. Move over, Steve Bartman.

I believe Mirotic has to become a sympathetic character because it’s not like he asked for any of this. For a long time, we weren’t even sure he would be part of this year’s Bulls. He’s simply positioning himself to reap the benefits of all his hard work. Isn’t that something we all go through in our own lives?

For now, the Bulls will have to be major supporting characters on “The Mirotic Show”. They can write themselves out once they find a new shooting location for him. Though viewers are tuning in, it’s more of a guilty pleasure for them. A change in scenery would be best for everyone currently involved for their own reasons.