The Bulls have no plans to replace executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas as their lead front office executive, a team source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who says general manager Marc Eversley and head coach Billy Donovan are likely just as safe as Karnisovas.
According to Cowley, there has been a “reoccurring edict” from team ownership to the front office to fix a roster that has finished in the middle of the pack for several years running. However, the Reinsdorfs (chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and president Michael Reinsdorf) still believe that Karnisovas is the right man for that job.
As for Donovan, he’s well-liked by both the front office and Bulls ownership, Cowley writes, noting that the organization’s top decision-makers have been impressed by the way the veteran coach transformed the club’s offense this season — Chicago ranks third in the NBA in pace in 2024/25 after placing 28th last season. Bulls management has also taken note of the strong relationships Donovan has developed in the locker room, Cowley adds.
Karnisovas, who was hired by the Bulls in 2020, made an in-season trade this month for the first time since an eventful 2021 deadline that saw Chicago land Nikola Vucevic. After spending more than a year on the trade block, Zach LaVine was sent from Chicago to Sacramento last week in a deal that saw Chicago reacquire control of its 2025 first-round pick.
Of course, as Cowley observes, there’s a case to be made that the LaVine trade was more about undoing previous moves, including LaVine’s maximum-salary contract and the 2022 acquisition of DeMar DeRozan in which the Bulls gave up that ’25 first-rounder. The Bulls also ended up hanging onto the rest of their trade candidates, including Vucevic, at last Thursday’s deadline.
Still, now that they’ve regained control of their 2025 first-rounder, the Bulls are well positioned to add another young player this June to a core that includes rookie forward Matas Buzelis. While Karnisovas told reporters last week that he’d like to see his team make a playoff push, Cowley says the front office wants to maximize its draft odds but can’t say so publicly.
If moving up the lottery order is the Bulls’ goal, they’ve been going in the “right” direction as of late, having lost their last four games by an average of 24.5 points per contest. Chicago’s 22-33 record is the eighth-worst mark in the league and the team is currently just 1.5 games ahead of the 20-34 Sixers and Nets.
The definition of insanity is…
…giving an extension to Patrick Williams.
Low T P, dude does not care about basketball, plays like he already won something, inept organization
This is a joke right?
Keep giving minutes to PWil
They were already well positioned to add a good player via the draft because the pick was top 10 protected and they suck just enough to be bottom 8. The chances of 3 teams jumping them in the lottery is essentially unheard of.
They haven’t been bottom eight for most of the season though, and they were flirting with the bottom 10 when they made that trade. The combination of losing LaVine and regaining full control of their pick in that deal has made their tanking position much stronger.
The draft pick could have conveyed the next 2 seasons. So they would have to finish in the bottom 8 in 26 and 27 in order to keep the pick
Last I looked, BULLS still had the best home attendance numbers ……. that’s all the BULLS ownership and front office seem to care about.
honcho, it’s the the price of the tickets that matters, not the “home attendance”.
With few exceptions, all 30 NBA cities can fill their arenas by pricing tickets to move (which the Bulls do). The Bulls could make $100-$250M more in annual revenues if they could put a great product on the court. The low Bulls season ticket prices represent a huge lost business opportunity.
Of course …… the point is, home attendance, among other items, is correlated to revenues and BULLS made north of 400M last season.
Da BULLS are raking it in (like most in the league), but giving out an inferior product on the floor, for years now.
It’s either they’re incompetent or completely satisfied with the status quo, probably both.
The blind leading the dumb.
Until there is a change in ownership, looking for front office changes is a waste of time.
Why would they? Jerry’s making a killing with them having a roster that is just decent or below average still 2nd in attendance. Don’t want to mess up a good thing.
I KNEW IT… This is Bulls…
STOP GOING TO GAMES, IF YOU ATTEND A BULLS GAME YOU ARE A FAKE FAN IF YOU BUY APPAREL YOUR A FAKE FAN, THIS IS TRASH
LaVine was the only extraordinary talent on the Bulls’ roster. Now the Bulls just have 15 role players. You’re dreaming if you think that the Bulls can build around Coby White. Maybe though in the long run, this is what’s best. AK’s original plan of making a run for the title with the lineup of DeRozan, PWill, Vucevic, LaVine and Ball didn’t work out for various reasons. In order to rebuild, the Bulls will have to tank and stay bad for at least two seasons if not more. No way around it.
Typical Reinsdork!!! Just keep losing you fool!
Most owners motto in the NBA is “Drive to Excellence”.
Jerry Reinsdorf motto is “Drive to attendance”, when it comes to the Chicago Bulls.
Williams and Terry haven’t gotten better under Billy D. White took 4 years because they didn’t want to gid rid of Lavine and DD.