Bulls' Portis returns from suspension, will be backup PF

The Chicago Bulls will welcome Bobby Portis back to the team following his eight-game suspension for breaking Nikola Mirotic's face in practice.

Portis will no longer be the starting option given the emergence of rookie Lauri Markkanen, but he will see opportunities as the backup power forward, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told ESPN's Nick Friedell on Monday.

This latest development will likely infuriate Mirotic, who has reportedly told the organization that he wouldn't be able to co-exist with Portis after a fight in practice on the eve of the season opener sent Mirotic to the hospital with a concussion and two facial fractures.

Mirotic is slowly recovering and is seeing occasional time in the Bulls' practice facility, but he's coming in at specific times when Portis is out. The front office is trying to stand behind both players, but obviously there are some irreconcilable differences given the ugly history between the two.

Chicago visits Toronto on Tuesday for its second meeting with the Raptors within the first month of the season. Toronto won the first matchup 117-100 in a game where neither Mirotic nor Portis played.