Chicago Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic were reportedly involved in a fist fight during yesterday's practice, which resulted in Mirotic taking a trip to the hospital.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Portis punched Mirotic in the face following a verbal altercation. After Portis landed the punch, Mirotic stayed down for several minutes and he reportedly suffered a fractured bone in his face.
Mirotic, 26, was expected to be Chicago's starting power forward but is now out indefinitely. The 22-year old Portis, who the Bulls selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, is reportedly scheduled for a phone call with NBA officials in New York today to discuss last night's fight.
According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, Portis is likely to miss "a few weeks."
The rebuilding Bulls could now be forced to start rookie forward Lauri Markkanen alongside Robin Lopez in the front court. Markkanen, a versatile 7-footer who played his college ball at Arizona, was taken by the Bulls with the seventh overall pick in the draft back in June.
Chicago will open up their season tomorrow night in Toronto. Their starting lineup figures to look something like Kris Dunn, Justin Holiday, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez.
Check out some of the other details regarding Portis and Mirotic's altercation below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/920429291996925955
https://twitter.com/_/status/920419672083668993
https://twitter.com/_/status/920418719100219394