Report: Mirotic avoiding Bulls, Portis during recovery

Rajon Rondo spent a lot of time with Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis last year, and the New Orleans Pelicans point guard thinks his former Chicago Bulls teammates are going to have a difficult time getting past their violent confrontation from last month.

"I think it will be tough for them," Rondo said Saturday, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "That situation, yeah, I think it will be tough."

Portis is set to rejoin the Bulls on Tuesday after serving his team-issued eight-game suspension, but Mirotic is still recovering from the facial fractures he suffered when Portis punched him, and it's unclear whether he'll even be on the Bulls' roster when he's ready to return. He's reportedly told the Bulls to trade either him or Portis before then.

Mirotic has stayed away from the team during his recovery, as Portis has continued to practice during his suspension, and the Bulls have had to juggle their practice times so Mirotic can use the team facility when he knows Portis won't be there, Friedell reports.

In the meantime, the Bulls are preparing to reintegrate Portis into their rotation, and will address the situation with Mirotic when he's ready to return.

"He's working extremely hard," Hoiberg said of Portis, according to Friedell. "When everything happened, we had to put together makeshift lineups, guys that hadn't played positions. ... Bobby's been getting a lot of extra work in before and after practice. ... He's a competitive kid. I know he's excited."