Bulls suspend Portis 8 games for punching Mirotic

The Chicago Bulls have suspended forward Bobby Portis eight games for punching teammate Nikola Mirotic in the face during a practice Tuesday.

The punch left Mirotic with a concussion and facial fractures that will likely need to be surgically repaired. He's expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks.

The two players had reportedly been going at each other verbally for much of practice before the confrontation turned physical. Mirotic was reportedly the aggressor during the incident, charging at Portis twice before Portis punched him.

"Both players owned responsibility for the incident itself, but only one player threw a punch," Bulls president John Paxson told reporters Wednesday, according to Darnell Mayberry from The Athletic. "That punch connected, and for us that is inexcusable. It's not who we are. It disappoints us."

"Portis is not a bad person," Paxson added. "He's a good kid, he's a competitive kid. But in this instance he made a mistake, and as we all know, when you make mistakes you've got to suffer the consequences. The consequences in this situation are going to be eight games where he'll be not with us."

In this case, it appears the outcome of the incident, more so than the intent, forced the Bulls' hand.

"The result of Niko's injuries are why we've taken the position that we have," Paxson said.

Portis will be permitted to practice with the team during his suspension.

With Mirotic and Portis both out, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said rookie Lauri Markkanen will start at power forward in Thursday's regular-season opener in Toronto.