Arturas Karnisovas and the rest of his front office have refused the idea of tanking to improve this Bulls roster. It’s time for that mindset to change going into the summer.
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Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas has forgotten more basketball than any fan or media member will ever know.
You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.
He has the pulse of player development, scouting, analytics and cap issues and also understands the politics of ownership and the underlying agenda of his bosses.
The media aren’t privy to a lot of that info.
But that doesn’t rule out blind spots.
And as much knowledge as Karnisovas has over the masses when it comes to his organization, observers know what a title contender should look like.
And it ain’t this.
The Bulls’ loss to the Knicks on Tuesday was just the latest reminder of how far Karnisovas’ Bulls are from being relevant in the Eastern Conference, let alone a serious contender.
Whether it was the comical alley-oop attempt by Torrey Craig that was blown up by teammate Andre Drummond or the team’s shot selection, the 2023-24 Bulls have reached the part of the NBA season in which they’re better off being put down.
Let’s just get to the exit interviews, where Karnisovas will use the messaging of “$70 million not playing,” referring to injuries to Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams, while he tries to highlight the “competitiveness” of going 26-16 in clutch games.
And not to steal the mic from him, but it’s obvious how this rap will go.
There will be the spirit of coming back from a 5-14 start, the pat on the back for the development of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu and the praise for the stellar job coach Billy Donovan did in keeping the team on the same page despite all the adversity.
But the reality of how Karnisovas needs to get out of this mess will be absent because it wouldn’t be a clean process. It would be dirty and rely on losing, possibly for years. It would start with tanking, something Karnisovas and his front office are vehemently opposed to.
They would rather keep taking on water but making sure the Good Ship Lollipop is still afloat instead of a good old-fashioned Titanic sinking.
That has been clear for three seasons now. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a last plea made.
Trade it all.
Let DeMar DeRozan finish his Hall of Fame career elsewhere, try to move Nikola Vucevic, give LaVine away for bad contracts, even explore what White and Dosunmu would bring back on the market.
This is not about the 2024 draft, a class that barely moves the needle.
This is about making sure to keep the 2025 top-10-protected pick out of the Spurs’ hands and Karnisovas giving himself the best odds of landing Duke-bound Cooper Flagg.
It’s not the tough sell that Karnisovas thinks it would be with the fan base. Chicago fans are well-versed on rebuilds by now.
Whether it’s some tired-out popcorn spills by Benny the Bull, the popular “Dunkin’ Races” or even handing out small shovels that read “Pooper Scooper for Cooper,” the United Center is its own being, full and energized on most nights no matter how bad the product.
Even if the Bulls miss out on Flagg in ’25, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe are there. The class appears to be loaded.
Karnisovas needs to get a toe in those waters.
In all likelihood he won’t. It will be more spin-doctoring and messaging when this season comes to an end.
After all, Karnisovas knows more than all of us. Just ask him.