The Chicago Bulls should simply cut ties with Nikola Mirotic and move forward in their rebuild without him.

It is mid-August and Nikola Mirotic still remains unsigned. The Chicago Bulls still hold his rights as a restricted free agent, but there simply is not a market for the forward from Spain. This is proof that the NBA is getting smarter.

At this point, the most likely scenario is that Mirotic swallows his pride and signs the $7.2 million qualifying offer with the Bulls. However, at this point, I don’t see how this benefits the Bulls.

Mirotic has some offensive ability, but he perception of a player is greater than his actual production on the court. Mirotic is a massive defensive liability, not showing any rim protection skills or ability to defend on the perimeter. He is also a weak rebounder on the inside.

His number one skill is supposed to be his outside shooting. However, Mirotic’s three-point prowess is not as great as some make it out to be. In fact, he is an average three-point shooter at best.

Last season, Mirotic shot 34.2% from three-point range. His career average is 35%. In 2016/17, the league average for all NBA players was 35.8%. In 2015/16, it was 35.4% and an even 35% the year before. Anybody who tells you that Mirotic is a good outside shooter is wrong and needs to reevaluate. At best, Mirotic is an average three-point shooter and the numbers clearly back that up.

So, if his best skill is only average when compared to the rest of the league, how good can Mirotic really be? Personally, I do not think he brings any real value to the Chicago Bulls roster.

I think they would be much better off going forward with Bobby Portis as their starting power forward and Lauri Markkanen as the primary backup. At least Portis and Markkanen have some potential upside, not just make-believe skill sets.

The Bulls need to work to improve their assets on the roster. Giving Portis and Markkanen the time to grow as players will be important for their development. Bringing Mirotic back only stunts their growth.

That being said, signing Mirotic on a one-year deal would not be the end of the world. He could help eat some minutes in an obvious tanking season. However, I would rather see them move on completely and anything more than one year would be absolutely foolish.