Chicago Bulls are slowly shaping up their roster. After they reached a contract buyout agreement with Dwyane Wade, the Bulls re-signed power forward Nikola Mirotic to a two-year, $27 million deal. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Mirotic is set to make $12.5 million for the upcoming season with the second year being a team option. While Chicago Bulls are heading to a complete rebuild, Mirotic’s 3 seasons with the team saw him emerging as the player with the longest tenure on the Bulls’ roster.
“I’m very happy with my new contract, to be honest,” Mirotic said on Tuesday. “Very happy to be here, very thankful for the Chicago Bulls organization for this opportunity. I said at the end of the season that my goal is to be here, to do what I didn’t do maybe those first three years. Be consistent, you know. Some people thought I was worried with my contract. No, I was very calm, working here until the middle of August.“
Nikola Mirotic started his professional career in Spain, playing for Real Madrid from 2008 to 2014. His honors included being named Spanish League MVP in 2013. He declared for NBA 2011 draft where the Houston Rockets selected him with the 23rd overall pick. He was then traded on the draft night to Minnesota Timberwolves and then again to the Chicago Bulls. In 2014 the Bulls called and Mirotic signed a three-year, $16.6 million contract with the team. After his first season with the Bulls, Mirotic was included in NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. During his time with Chicago Bulls, Mirotic played 218 regular season games averaging 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Although born in Montenegro, Mirotic decided to play for Spain men’s national basketball team. Besides winning a gold medal with U20 team, he also helped the Spain’s senior team to win EuroBasket 2015 and bronze medal on 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
