Restricted free agent Niko Mirotic staying ‘home’ with Bulls

Staying with the Bulls has always been Niko Mirotic’s priority.

“This is my home,’’ the forward said in July.

Guess who gets to stay home?

A Bulls source confirmed a report by The Vertical on Sunday that Mirotic, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year, $27 million deal to stay with the only NBA team he has played for, ensuring he’ll remain part of the rebuild for now.

It was a long wait for Mirotic this offseason. He hoped the market would move him into the range of $16 million-$18 million annually, but with teams being more fiscally responsible because of a tighter cap next year, that offer never came.

Meanwhile, the Bulls sat back and stayed patient, but they had every intention of matching any outside offer to bring Mirotic back, unless it was outrageous.

At least for now, Mirotic is set to play with a much different team.

“I cannot tell you that I’m not going to miss Rajon [Rondo], though,’’ Mirotic said of all the new faces in camp. “I will lie if I say I won’t miss him because he was my guy. I really enjoyed playing with him. But we have some new guys, new players.

“It’s just going to be a different team, a young team, but it’s going to be exciting.’’

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