Bulls prospect Nikola Mirotic impresses in exhibition vs. Grizzlies

Chicago Bulls prospect and Real Madrid forward Nikola Mirotic impressed Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph during Real Madrid's exhibition loss to Memphis last Saturday,

Mirotic scored 14 points and added 7 rebounds in 28 minutes against the Grizzlies and, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com, caught the eye of Z-Bo to the point that the All-Star forward asked about him after the game.

"I was just asking Marc (Gasol) about him," Randolph was saying after the game when I caught up with him in the Grizzlies locker room in a sort of a Butch and Sundance "Who was that guy?" tone.

"I like him," Randolph said. "I told Marc he can shoot the ball. I was asking how old he was. He's just 21. The kid's got a real upside. He can play in the NBA."

Mirotic's head coach was a bit more excessive in his praise of the young forward, and, as is usually the case with European players, compared him to Dirk Nowitzki.

His coach, Pabio Laso, when I asked him if Mirotic compares, say, to someone like Peja Stojakovic because of his great shooting range and face up game, Laso said no, that Mirotic is more like Nowitzki.

The Chicago Bulls acquired Mirotic via trade after he was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He is under contract with Real Madrid through 2016.