WASHINGTON — The list was right next to Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf, itching to be read.
Reinsdorf was just waiting for someone to ask.
As his Zoom meeting Tuesday with the media was winding down, however, he went ahead and revealed what he’ll be looking for in his next basketball operations executive.
The list contained more than just job requirements.
“I want someone who is process-oriented,” Reinsdorf said. “I think the biggest mistakes we’ve made over the years is we have not followed a process.”
Translation: Fired exec Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley had a plan of no plan. That was evident the last four seasons as they fooled themselves into running back mediocrity after mediocrity.
“Conviction: We need someone who is not afraid to pull the trigger,” Reinsdorf said.
Translation: The Karnisovas regime and the end of the Gar/Pax regime had too many roster spots filled with players the front office overrated and didn’t want to move off of in time.
“Communicator: We have a history at the Bulls at the top position other than [John Paxson], they haven’t always been the best communicators going back to the days of Jerry Krause. It wasn’t one of Arturas’ strengths. I want someone who is really strong in communication, not just internally within the organization, [but] when talking to people like [the media], talking to our fans. I think that’s really important in what we’re trying to accomplish. What is the plan? Our fans have a right to understand what we’re trying to accomplish.”
No translation needed. It’s as honest as a billionaire owner can be about his shortcomings and the shortcomings of his franchise.
“We’ve talked about trends, three-point shooting, salary-cap increases,” Reinsdorf said. “Back in 2015, 2016, clearly Golden State saw what was coming with the cap and where [TV deals] were headed and saw ahead of time, ‘Hey, with the new TV deal coming up, the cap will increase.’ And they went ahead and made decisions that allowed them to sign guys like Kevin Durant.”
Translation: The Bulls need to know when to strike and start getting ahead of the league rather than chasing it.
“Talent: One of the things from a business standpoint that I’m proud of [is] I’ve surrounded myself with really smart people. . . . Whoever takes this role, that person one day [will need to have a person under them just as smart].”
Translation: The days of former GM Gar Forman, who pitted people against each other and worried about his own survival, and Eversley, who hid in the weeds for far too many years, have ended. The front office needs to collectively be talented and unafraid.
“Basketball evaluator,” Reinsdorf said. “At the end of the day, you have to get the players right.”
Translation: Marquis Teague never should have been drafted over Draymond Green, and Patrick Williams shouldn’t have been selected over Tyrese Haliburton. The Bulls have to stop missing when the obvious stares them in the face. Sometimes a coach knows more than an exec when it comes to talent.
“Collaboration: The role you have, you have to work across scouting, development departments, analytics; you have to have that alignment,” he said.
Translation: You can’t always act like the smartest person in the room, talk down to people who don’t agree with the vision and just flat-out fire people who challenge ideas more than once because they have the data and numbers to prove you’re wrong. Hello, Steve Weinman, the former Bulls analytics guru who didn’t agree with Karnisovas’ flawed roster building and inevitably was fired for it.
“Manager: There was a time when you could hire a scout to [lead] basketball operations, and you’d be fine,” Reinsdorf said. “Basketball operations now is so big. You need to understand how to manage and organize people.”
Translation: Yes, Karnisovas did build out a player-development staff that was almost nonexistent under Gar/Pax, but was that group properly managed and heard? Ask shooting guru Peter Patton, who was let go because he spoke his mind about players and their shortcomings. His evaluations proved to be more right than wrong.
Was Reinsdorf’s news conference perfect? No, but it did have some real frank moments, a rarity for most owners.
What Reinsdorf does next, however, will be the ultimate yardstick. Otherwise, it’ll just be a list of unfulfilled promises.
