As if the Bulls haven’t experienced enough upheaval of late, Jim Boylen played Jabari Parker a season-low 4 minutes, 10 seconds in the Bulls’ 97-91 loss to the Magic Thursday night at Mexico City Arena.

And the Bulls’ high-profile, hometown free-agent signing’s future role is in question after Boylen said Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis will split the power forward minutes and that rookie Chandler Hutchison could get a look backing up Justin Holiday at small forward.

“It is a surprise because I did everything I could in the time I was given,” Parker said. “But it is what it is. You can’t pout. You just got to keep moving.”

Parker said he learned of the move at the morning shootaround and wasn’t given a reason other than “just (Boylen’s) wishes.” But Boylen said he spoke to Parker, and a team source said how Parker competes in practice, particularly at the defensive end, will determine his role moving forward.

“I’m not expecting it to be (permanent),” Parker said. “Everybody is telling me the truth and that’s just to stay ready. They’re not telling me things I want to hear. They’re not pointing fingers. And personally, I know I’ve done my job to embrace Jim as the head coach. I’ve been nothing but welcoming of him. And that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

The Bulls’ wild week continued when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fielded a question about all the tumult. And even though Silver didn’t wade too deeply into it, the fact he knew about it underscored how loudly that week reverberated throughout the league landscape.

“I’m very careful not to get involved in the operation of any particular team. I don’t know firsthand about a player who did or didn’t call the players association,” Silver said, addressing one juicy detail from discussions about boycotting Jim Boylen’s practice Sunday. “I read the story. But no one called me to complain. The players association hasn’t talked to us. I accept, though, that in a group of young men who are playing there may be a difference in view occasionally in terms of when players should be practicing and how hard they should be working. Generally, those issues are worked out by teams.

“And I read some of the comments that have come back from Bulls management, their coach, and there seems to be a meeting of the minds. When a new coach comes in midseason, that coach may have a different way of doing things than the prior coach. ... I will say there are rules set up in the collective bargaining agreement in terms of practice times and days off. No one has suggested to me that any of those rules have been violated.”

Backed by ownership and management and coaching to his true personality, Boylen remains resolute in his approach. He has said change is “raw.” And he has hinted at more changes coming now that Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis are healthy and back in the rotation.

Dunn came off the bench for the second straight game behind Ryan Arcidiacono, although Boylen said Dunn will start “eventually.” Dunn said he always takes the mindset of doing what his coach asks of him.

Parker, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal in free agency that has a team option for the second year, is the Bulls’ second-leading scorer and rebounder.

“I think it’s hard to play three power forwards,” Boylen said. “So he played some minutes at small forward and we didn’t think that was the way to go the rest of the game. This team is not about one person, one matchup, one situation. It’s about the team. And you play your minutes when you’re in there. When you’re not, we hope you support the other guys that are.

“Going forward, he’s a part of our team. We’ll see where his minutes are going forward. Him playing (power forward) is difficult right now. There might be an opportunity (at small forward). I like Hutch.”

Parker’s homecoming hasn’t been smooth. Plans to start him at small forward were shelved. Previous coach Fred Hoiberg moved him to a reserve role before Portis’ injury, which pushed Parker back into the starting lineup. Now his reserve minutes have dropped under Boylen.

“I know who I am at the end of the day,” Parker said. “I’ve proved myself. I abide by everybody. I abide by everything that’s been given to me. I’m not going to resent that.”

This is why even though the Bulls have said all the right things publicly and legitimately felt Sunday’s two-hour meetings were beneficial after talk of the practice boycott was scuttled, the current positivity will be tested.

Boylen not only has asked for more toughness and commitment but also sacrifice.

“We did have some distraction,” Boylen said. “We had some situations. But at the end of the day, it brought us closer. It opened more lines of communication. Togetherness is something we talk about. That’s an act. It’s not just a word.”

The Bulls displayed some toughness when Lauri Markkanen sank a tying 3-pointer with 66 seconds left despite missing eight of nine shots to that point. But after Nikola Vucevic drew an offensive foul, Dunn got whistled for the same on a drive with 33.7 seconds left.

Vucevic sank a wide-open jumper, and Zach LaVine, who led the Bulls with 23 points, missed on a drive. D.J. Augustin then sank four free throws in the final 9.9 seconds.

On the final, meaningless play, LaVine tried to score and came up limping. He walked out of the arena under his own power.

LaVine said he’ll “be fine” but also said he heard “something pop” when he landed on his ankle.

“I think it was just some fluid or something,” LaVine said. “I’ll be all right by Saturday. I’m walking around.”