NBA Rumors: Robin Lopez-Kris Dunn Rift Will Force Bulls To Pull Trade Trigger

The atmosphere over at the Chicago Bulls camp remains gloomy, with player frustrations mounting. The latest on that is a reported heated exchange involving Robin Lopez and Kris Dunn, something that went down during the Bulls' practice.

Hearing about this may not be new to Chicago Bulls fans. In a previous report, players have grown frustrated over new head coach Jim Boylen's extreme tactics, and this almost resulted in a near mutiny, with players seeking the NBAPA for help.

And while all this transpired last month, everything had seemed to simmer down. That was until a recent report from ESPN regarding the heated confrontation involving Lopez and Dunn. It seems the former was playing too aggressively, and Dunn took exception. Lopez left practice for a while to cool off.

Dunn said that such was the result of frustration from within the Bulls camp as they try to figure out how to arrest their losing skid. But for Lopez, pundits see it as a result of him not being able to get out of Chicago, with the Bulls stressing that they will not buy out the 30-year-old center.

A team that Lopez reportedly has on his radar is the Golden State Warriors, which could use his 7-foot frame to man the middle. But that can only happen if the Bulls would buy him out, Yahoo Sports reported.

It seems that the Bulls want something useful in exchange for Lopez. They are looking to get at least a second-round draft pick. If this is not met, they will reportedly retain him, put his veteran leadership to good use and make the most out of his $14-million contract.

However, since the Bulls seem to have no big plans for the current season, the scenario places Lopez in a frustrating situation. As of writing, the Bulls hold a 10-33 win-loss record and are unlikely to make the postseason wars. They are in rebuilding mode, and Lopez doesn't seem to be part of their future plans and may eventually be dealt off.

Also, he is hardly getting the playing time from Boylen since the Bulls do have big men hogging the minutes for Chicago. This includes Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Bobby Portis, limiting Lopez's playing time to a measly 16.3 minutes per night. He is averaging a season-low of 5.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, a far cry from his 2011-12 campaign with the Phoenix Suns.

It remains to be seen if future altercations will occur. For Lopez, he finds himself in a bind with the Bulls calling the shots on his tenure.