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Bulls Notes: GM Search, Finley, Boylen

April 24th, 2020 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls remain on the hunt for a new general manager, and Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that the interview process may carry through next week.

A since-deleted report on Thursday suggested that CAA agent Austin Brown was in serious talks to become Chicago’s next GM, but a source tells Cowley there’s no frontrunner at this point. Brown’s name is in the mix, per Cowley. Still, there has been no confirmation that he has even interviewed for the job yet.

Although no one has emerged yet as an obvious favorite – as new executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas did during his own interview process with the Bulls – Cowley’s source says that Mavericks VP of basketball ops Michael Finley “made a great impression” on Karnisovas. Finley reportedly interviewed for the GM position last week.

Here’s more out of Chicago from Cowley:

  • Since being hired by the Bulls, Karnisovas has spent plenty of time reaching out to as many of the club’s current players as possible, as well as meeting with “what’s left” of the scouting departments, says Cowley. Karnisovas is collecting information and opinions on what he has to work with in the front office and on the roster, a source tells The Sun-Times.
  • While many Bulls fans are impatient to learn the fate of head coach Jim Boylen, a decision on Boylen’s future is further down on Karnisovas’ list of priorities, Cowley writes. As Cowley has previously reported, Boylen remains optimistic that he’ll retain the job. He has been staying in touch with his players for updates and to have them study film clips and has “regularly” met with Karnisovas this month.
  • While letting go of Boylen and letting one of his assistants finish the season – if it resumes – could be one path Karnisovas considers, Cowley suggests it’s not likely. A source tells The Sun-Times there’s no obvious candidate to replace Boylen on an interim basis, since the assistants are “all viewed to have equal footing from an experience standpoint.”
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Bulls Notes: Offseason Checklist, GM Search

April 23rd, 2020 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Zach Kram of The Ringer breaks down the offseason checklist for the Bulls and new executive VP president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
  • In a conversation with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, John Hollinger suggests that Karnisovas’ focus as he builds the Bulls‘ new front office figures to be on scouting and drafting. Marc Eversley (Sixers), Matt Lloyd (Magic), and Mark Hughes (Clippers), who have reportedly interviewed for the general manager job, are all “veteran road warriors on the scouting side,” says Hollinger.
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Bucks’ Milt Newton Among Bulls’ GM Candidates

April 21st, 2020 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton has emerged as another candidate for the Bulls‘ GM job, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter). It’s not clear if Chicago has requested or received permission to speak to Newton, or if he has formally interviewed for the position.

Newton, hired by the Bucks in the summer of 2017, previously worked for the 76ers, Wizards, and the NBA league office, and was the Timberwolves’ general manager from 2013 to 2016.

If he does interview with the Bulls, Newton will join a list of GM candidates that includes Sixers senior VP of player personnel Marc Eversley, Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, and Magic assistant GM Matt Lloyd, and Mavericks VP of basketball operations Michael Finley. A report last Tuesday noted that the Bulls had received permission to speak to Eversley, Hughes, and Lloyd, while a subsequent report confirmed that the club had also spoken to Finley.

According to Johnson, the Bulls’ first round of interviews is ongoing, and there’s an expectation it will lead to a second round of meetings with a smaller group of finalists. There has been no indication yet which candidates will advance to that stage.

The Bulls are seeking a general manager who will work under newly-hired executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, who will be making the final basketball decisions in Chicago. Previous GM Gar Forman was let go when Karnisovas was hired.

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Bulls Notes: Jordan, Management, Butler

April 19th, 2020 at 2:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Happy Last Dance Day! Tonight is the first of 10 episodes of the Michael Jordan documentary. In honor of the occasion, allow me to pass along one of my favorite quotes from Jordan:

“It’s heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can. People may not agree with that. I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.”

It’s a quote that I vividly remember reading before making a leap into sports full-time, leaving the comfy confines of a corporate position. It’s something I recall every time I make a move that hopefully brings me closer to my goal of being an NBA GM (dreamers can still dream), and it’s a reminder that everything you do is not going to please everyone, so excuse the bad analogy, but shoot your shot.

While we await an inside look into Jordan’s final season with the Bulls, let’s take a look at some notes from Chicago:

  • Sam Smith of NBA.com explains how the conflict between management, players, and coaches helped motivate Jordan’s final championship season with the Bulls. Jackson and Jordan knew they had to go out as winners and the internal feuds fueled the team.
  • Chicago feared paying Jimmy Butler the supermax and made one of the bolder franchise pivots over the past decade when they traded away the All-Star for a package of young prospects, ESPN’s Zach Lowe contends. The Bulls felt that a new core would bring them closer to championship contention, though they have yet to make the playoffs since trading Butler.
  • In the same piece, Lowe argues that better play-makers – whether acquired via outside acquisition or internal improvements – would help the Bulls’ young frontcourt improve. Neither Lauri Markkanen nor Wendell Carter Jr. has played at a high level for consistent stretches during their respective young NBA careers.
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Mavs Exec Michael Finley Interviews For Bulls’ GM Job

April 17th, 2020 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks vice president of basketball operations Michael Finley has interviewed for the Bulls’ general manager job, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Finley is a Chicago native who has spent the last seven seasons in the Dallas front office after a long playing career. Mavs owner Mark Cuban indicated in a radio interview this week he’d allow Finley to talk to the Bulls.

Chicago’s newly-hired head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has promised an “extensive and diverse search” for a GM. Chicago had already been granted permission to speak to Sixers senior VP of player personnel Marc Eversley, Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, and Magic assistant GM Matt Lloyd.

Thunder executives Troy Weaver and Nazr Mohammed have also had their names bandied about as potential GM targets for Chicago. However, based on a subsequent report, it would be a surprise if Weaver has interest in the job. Karnisovas has already added J.J. Polk and Pat Connelly in the first steps toward assembling a new front office.

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Cuban Would Grant Bulls Permission To Interview Finley

April 17th, 2020 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Appearing on the McNeil & Parkins Show on 670 The Score in Chicago, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was evasive when asked whether the Bulls have asked to interview Michael Finley for a front office position. However, he said he’d grant Chicago permission to speak to Finley if asked. Finley was identified last week as a potential candidate for the Bulls’ GM opening.
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Bulls Notes: Karnisovas, GM Search, Boylen, Battier

April 15th, 2020 at 7:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls‘ new executive VP of basketball operations, promised “an extensive and diverse” search for a general manager during an interview with K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Karnisovas was officially hired Monday, but is working out of Denver because of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. He has already added J.J. Polk and Pat Connelly in the first steps toward assembling a new front office.

“I’ve been in this profession a long time,” Karnisovas said. “Most of the guys on the list I know personally and I’ve known them for a long time, from scouting games and going to dinners and interaction. It’s going to be easier for me. I know exactly the criteria I’m looking for. It’s going to be complementary to me and my skill set. I don’t want clones. I want somebody who is going to bring something different to our organization. Those are things I pay attention to.”

Also in the interview, Karnisovas talked about his preference for an up-tempo offense with plenty of ball movement and the need for player development, citing the progress the Nuggets were able to make with a young team.

“Players want to play and players want to win,” he said. “I’m going to try to facilitate that. I’m going to try to improve every year. Constant improvement is what we’ve done in Denver. I’d like to incorporate that here.”

There’s more from Chicago:

  • Karnisovas should be willing to trade any player on the roster, even leading scorer Zach LaVine or Lauri Markkanen, contends Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago. He cites the Sixers, Nets and Spurs as teams that might look to shake up their rosters in the offseason.
  • The uncertainty of the NBA calendar may help coach Jim Boylen keep his job, Johnson writes in a mailbag column. If the league is able to squeeze in a few regular season games before the playoffs, Johnson believes it makes sense to keep Boylen around for those. Karnisovas said he will get to know Boylen, who has two years left on his contract, before making a final decision. Johnson notes that Karnisovas has a prior relationship with assistant coach Chris Fleming, whom he helped to hire in Denver.
  • Chicago hasn’t sought permission to interview Shane Battier, the Heat’s VP of basketball development and analytics, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. A report earlier this week indicated the Bulls weren’t planning to pursue Battier because they don’t believe Miami would let him go.
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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Chicago Bulls

April 14th, 2020 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

Viewed as a potential playoff sleeper pick in the Eastern Conference entering the 2019/20 season, the Bulls made little forward progress. Presumed building block Lauri Markkanen had his worst year as a pro, newcomer Thaddeus Young didn’t fit in as planned, and starting small forward Otto Porter missed nearly the entire season with a foot injury.

The disappointing showing resulted in some front office changes for the Bulls, who fired Gar Forman, reassigned John Paxson, and hired Arturas Karnisovas as their new head of basketball operations. With 12 of 15 Chicago’s players under contract for 2020/21, Karnisovas may not have a ton of cap flexibility to make significant changes right away, so it will be interesting to see how many of the current pieces he retains and how soon he looks to put his own stamp on the roster.

Here’s where things stand for the Bulls financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • None

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

With just shy of $78MM in guaranteed money on their 2020/21 books for 11 players, the Bulls seemingly could create cap room. However, adding Porter’s $28MM+ player option – which he’ll almost certainly exercise – and the cap hold for their No. 4 pick eliminates that potential space in a hurry.

As such, the Bulls figure to operate as an over-the-cap team, though they shouldn’t be anywhere close to the tax line. That means the club will have the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception available this offseason.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 1
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 1

Footnotes

  1. This is a projected value.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Bulls Receive Permission To Interview Three GM Candidates

April 14th, 2020 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

Having officially hired Arturas Karnisovas as their new head of basketball operations, the Bulls are now in the market for a new general manager. With Karnisovas leading that search, the club has received permission to interview three candidates so far, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, Chicago has been granted permission to speak to Sixers senior VP of player personnel Marc Eversley, Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, and Magic assistant GM Matt Lloyd.

[RELATED: Bulls Part Ways With GM Gar Forman]

Those three executives were among the candidates initially identified by Wojnarowski for the job last Friday. At the time, Woj also said that Nuggets assistant GM Calvin Booth was a target, so his omission from today’s list is notable. There’s a belief that Denver will attempt to keep Booth after losing Karnisovas — he’s a candidate to be promoted to fill the Nuggets’ newly-opened GM role.

It remains to be seen whether Eversley, Hughes, and Lloyd are the Bulls’ top choices or whether the team’s search will continue to expand to include other candidates.

A source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that Heat assistant GM Shane Battier won’t be interviewing with the Bulls, since Chicago recognizes that Miami values him and won’t be letting him go. Cowley adds (via Twitter) that despite some chatter, Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon won’t be a candidate for the Bulls’ GM position either.

Cowley previously identified Mavericks VP of basketball operations Michael Finley and Thunder executives Troy Weaver and Nazr Mohammed as potential GM targets for Chicago. However, based on a subsequent report, it would be a surprise if Weaver has interest in the job.

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Bulls Notes: Front Office, Boylen, Forman, Paxson

April 13th, 2020 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

On a conference call today introducing new executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, Bulls COO Michael Reinsdorf said that it was clear during the search process that the former Denver GM “checked every box,” as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Reinsdorf admitted that his father, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, ultimately had to sign off on the hire, but said “it was clear after that meeting that we had our guy.”

Karnisovas, meanwhile, confirmed that J.J. Polk and Pat Connelly will join the Bulls’ front office, as previously reported, and said that hiring a general manager is next on his list of priorities. According to Karnisovas, the GM search will be “extensive and diverse,” and the goal will be to hire an executive whose skills complement his own, rather than overlapping significantly with his strengths (all Twitter links via K.C. Johnson).

As for the future of head coach Jim Boylen, that remains up in the air, with Karnisovas telling reporters that there’s no timeline for a decision on Boylen or the coaching staff (Twitter link via Johnson).

Boylen took the unusual step of issuing a welcome message to the new head of basketball operations through the team’s PR department, lauding Karnisovas’ résumé and commending the Reinsdorfs for bringing him aboard.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • Karnisovas offered the following explanation when asked about Gar Forman‘s dismissal: “After some consideration and conversation, it was apparent that we have different philosophies that will prevent us from moving forward. Those decisions are never easy. I was hired to affect change” (Twitter link via Johnson).
  • Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times tweets that Forman’s departure should increase the Bulls’ appeal to free agents. Forman’s presence “poisoned the well” with players and agents, according to Cowley, who says the longtime general manager was viewed as “untrustworthy.”
  • Confirming a recent report, Michael Reinsdorf said today that it was John Paxson who came to ownership in the winter to suggest the need for changes in the front office (Twitter link via Johnson). Previously the Bulls’ executive VP of basketball operations, Paxson will now be a senior advisor.
  • After facing some criticism last week for a perceived lack of diversity in the Bulls’ front office search, Reinsdorf defended the team’s record on that front, as Johnson details for NBC Sports Chicago. According to Reinsdorf, two of the six candidates on the team’s short list for head of basketball operations were people of color, but Chicago was denied permission to interview both.
  • Karnisovas said today that facilitating player development will be one of his primary goals in Chicago, since the Bulls are a young team with a handful of promising young players (Twitter link via Johnson).
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