Bulls' Portis and Mirotic haven't spoken since brawl in preseason practice

What's the story?

ESPN NBA Writer Nick Friedell reports that Chicago Bulls teammates Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic have not spoken since the incident that left Mirotic with a concussion and several facial fractures.

In case you didn't know...

Portis is currently in his third season in the NBA, all with the Chicago Bulls. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 2015 NBA Draft out of the University of Arkansas.

The heart of the matter...

Mirotic is out of action from four to six weeks with the injuries he sustained after Portis threw a punch that landed on Mirotic's jaw causing the fractures and concussion. As a result, the Chicago Bulls suspended Portis for eight games.

Portis made his season debut on Tuesday in a 119-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors. He scored 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting plus 13 rebounds in 24 minutes of playing time.

Before Tuesday's game, Portis made his first public comments since the incident, he discussed if he had talked with Mirotic since the incident and his quote is below:

"No, I haven't talked to Niko, I just let bygones be bygones with that, I can't control that. Only thing I can control is myself at this point. I'm not worried about who goes, who stays. Only thing I'm worried about is coming in trying to play at the highest level possible. I'm living my dream right now. This is my dream. I've always wanted to play in the NBA. I'm here, and that's all I want to do at this point."

What's next?

In Portis' absence, the Chicago Bulls (2-7) didn't fare well starting the season with a 2-6 record. Their next game is at home against the Indiana Pacers (5-7).

Author's take...

I'm a little surprised that they haven't spoken since the incident as you would think that Portis would have reached out to Mirotic to apologize. It will be interesting to see how things are in the Bulls locker room when Mirotic returns from injury sometime in the next couple of weeks.