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Saturday, June 28, 2014

Chicago Bulls Off-Season Update: Mirotic Will Leave Real Madrid

At least one moving piece this summer can finally be pinned down with certainty.

Nikola Mirotic will be leaving Real Madrid and coming to play in the NBA next season.

With a loss to Barcelona in the Final Four, Mirotic played in his final game for his Euroleague team. With the Bulls able to pay $600,000 toward his buyout, Nikola Mirotic will have to pay the remaining $2.4M of his $3M buyout from Real Madrid. A lot of emphasis has been put on Mirotic and the Bulls decision waiting on what happens on the upcoming weeks of free agency. But, from the sounds of everything coming from overseas, Mirotic has made up his mind. A $2.4M buyout from his former team is worth it for him to make the jump this season. Madrid could play nice in this situation and allow Mirotic to pay that amount over a stretch of a few years. Making it easier for Mirotic to transition himself in the states. Nikola seemed to fall off just a bit toward the end of the season in his production levels. He went from being the 2nd scoring option to the 4th scoring option on the team. Many think his production level went down because he had NBA-land on his mind. Others blame the coach for play calling and his gameplan. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has lost faith and trust in head coach Pablo Laso and has called for his departure.
The Former Spanish League MVP has confirmed that he will leave Real Madrid to play in the NBA next season.
After claiming the Spanish League Championship a year ago, Real Madrid fell short of the finals this season. While it is not clear when the problems began, a rift between the team's coach, Pablo Laso, and ownership may be just the tip of the iceberg. And so far, the summer has not been any kinder to the team.

Amidst the turmoil within the Real Madrid, the Chicago Bulls stands to be the biggest winner as the NBA team who owns the draft rights to Nikola Mirotic, the former Spanish League MVP.

Most reports have speculated that Mirotic would be willing to sign a contract with the Bulls for the equivalent of the MLE, which would allow the Chicago Bulls to still add Mirotic even if they are already over the salary cap.

Stay tuned for more details about the Mirotic Saga.

What do you think about having Nikola Mirotic on the Chicago Bulls next season? What do you think about the prospect of adding Mirotic and Carmelo Anthony to the Chicago Bulls this summer? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

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