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The Chicago Bulls plan to discuss a contract extension with third-year power forward Bobby Portis, reports Vincent Goodwill of NBC Chicago.
Portis is certainly having the finest season of his career, averaging career-best numbers across the board: 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. His field-goal percentage is slightly down from last season (47.5 percent from 48.8 percent), but he’s shooting career-high marks from 3-point range (35 percent) and the free-throw line (78.1 percent). His third-year leap culminated in a 38-point performance off the bench on Feb. 22 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Portis’ future was unclear early in the season; when he punched teammate Nikola Mirotic in the jaw, breaking bones and concussing the Spanish forward, he was suspended for eight games, and he and Mirotic didn’t speak (off the court) for months. With Mirotic having been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Bulls no longer have to worry about the awkwardness of that relationship going forward, and are free to proceed with extending Portis’ contract.
Portis has been a useful part of the Bulls’ rotation since they drafted him 22nd overall in 2015, despite having started in just 18 of his 179 total games.
