Bulls prospect Nikola Mirotic delivers strong effort in exhibition loss to Raptors

Chicago Bulls prospect Nikola Mirotic posted his second straight impressive performance against NBA competition on Monday night, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 boards for Real Madrid in a 102-95 exhibition loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Going primarily up against Raptors star Andrea Bargnani, Mirotic played a shade under 37 minutes before fouling out. He did struggle some with his outside shot, going just 1-of-6 from three, but he went 4-of-7 on twos. He also made all six of his free-throw attempts. He made his presence felt on the other end as well, swatting three shots.

This strong performance comes days after a 14-point, seven-rebound effort against the Memphis Grizzlies that impressed Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph. Bulls general manager Gar Forman was there to take in both games of his prized prospect. CSN Chicago's Aggrey Sam was also in attendance on Monday, and he tweeted some glowing reviews of Mirotic:

@samsmithhoops was right in saying he could be an NBA starter now...maybe not Chicago (Taj/Booz), but Bulls have 2 years to figure that out

— Aggrey Sam (@CSNBullsInsider) October 9, 2012

Great length, solid ball skills, deep range, quick feet, unafraid of contact, aggressive, good instincts, really runs the floor, nice touch

— Aggrey Sam (@CSNBullsInsider) October 9, 2012

The Bulls acquired the rights to Mirotic via draft night trade in 2011. He's currently under contract with Real Madrid until 2016, but the Bulls will likely try to bring him over before then.