Bobby Portis was going to be a Bulls for life. He loved the pride that came with wearing “Bulls” across his chest despite the team’s struggles in Year 2 of the rebuild.
Unfortunately for Portis, the Bulls had other plans for his future.
Two weeks ago, the Bulls “blindsided” Portis by trading him and Jabari Parker to the Washington Wizards for sharpshooter Otto Porter Jr. just 20 minutes before tip-off at the United Center.
On Wednesday, Portis still seemed upset with the Bulls’ decision to trade him.
“I was very disappointed,” Portis told TMZ. “I was getting ready for a game, not knowing it was gonna happen. I was blindsided. But now, I’m just happy to be with a team now that really wants me. I can’t wait to get back started.”
Though Portis seemed optimistic about the “good basketball culture” in Washington D.C., his most recent reaction to the trade shows that the wound hasn’t fully healed yet.
Portis, whom the Bulls drafted in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft, made his return to the United Center just two days after the trade went down. After the game, he revealed the pain of betrayal he was feeling.
“Everybody knows how much pride I had playing for the Bulls, pride playing for the city of Chicago,” Portis told reporters. “Obviously, I got my first taste of the business side of basketball. You don’t really get your way all the time.
“I was hurt the last 48 hours, but when I got into the game [Friday], those emotions went away. I took it really tough, didn’t see it coming. Never thought I would get traded. I’m with an organization now where they really like me.”
And this is the new normal for Portis, who is trying to make the best of his situation with the Wizards.
“I’m just happy to be apart of it,” Portis told TMZ.
