Back in early September, Nikola Mirotic arrived at the Advocate Center for informal team workouts, slightly before Jimmy Butler.
This gave the third-year forward the opportunity not only to show off the bronze medal he won with Spain at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for a few days before Butler arrived to trump him with Team USA's gold.
It also gave Mirotic a couple of extra days with a vibe that everyone from Butler to Mirotic to Dwyane Wade has pointed out thus far.
"You can see this training camp is completely different than last year," Mirotic said. "Guys are very together and very excited, helping each other. The atmosphere is great, completely different. And I think we're working harder than last year."
Executive vice president John Paxson wasn't kidding in April when he said this training camp would be more intense. The Bulls have yet to take a day off, Sunday marking their 10th practice in six days.
And in advance of Monday's home exhibition opener against the Bucks, the Bulls also will stage a Monday morning shootaround.
"We definitely have new guys so we have to repeat a lot of things," Mirotic said.
Mirotic is one of the few rotational holdovers, though coach Fred Hoiberg has made clear Mirotic won't be gift-wrapped a starting power forward position like last season. Mirotic eventually lost that spot to Taj Gibson, endured a painful botched appendectomy that necessitated a hematoma removal and forced him to miss 16 games before rallying to shoot 39 percent from 3-point range.
Mirotic's floor spacing could prove critical to the Bulls' offensive success this season given that Wade, Butler and Rajon Rondo are more comfortable driving and in screen-and-roll.
"I'm not worried about (starting)," Mirotic said. "I'm only worried how I can help my team and where I can improve. Everybody would like to start. That's obvious. But this is the Chicago Bulls. There are a lot of great players. We are here to help the team to put Chicago in the playoffs."
Mirotic clearly relished his Olympic experience, living in the Olympic Village and associating with athletes from other countries and sports. He joked that reserve center Cristiano Felicio, who played for the host country and didn't medal, was angry that Mirotic brought his medal to camp.
"Just to have fun there, a chance to live in the village with the best athletes in the world, all kinds of disciplines, and trying to win the medal was important for me and the Spanish people," Mirotic said. "Being on the Olympic team is different than being on an (NBA) team. It was a very successful summer. But now I should focus to do my best job here."
