After watching his team get eliminated in the play-in round for the second straight season, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas promised that changes are coming, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Addressing reporters today in the wake of Friday’s loss at Miami, Karnisovas sounded ready for a major roster shake-up.
“I’ve said numerous times today: This group, something doesn’t work. I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked,” Karnisovas said. “Everything is on the table. I am going to look at totality of the group. This group hasn’t worked. There’s a lot of great things in certain individual players and a lot of young guys who took a step forward and it’s positive. But in totality as a group, it didn’t work. So I’m going to have to find these answers in offseason.”
Presumably that will start with Zach LaVine, whom the team tried to move last fall before injuries derailed his season. Multiple outlets have reported that Karnisovas will make another attempt this summer to find a taker for LaVine, who has three years and about $138MM left on his contract, including a nearly $49MM player option for 2026/27.
Although Karnisovas emphasized the need for change at today’s press conference, Johnson states that he repeated his commitment to re-sign free agents DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams. A source tells Johnson that the team recently offered DeRozan a two-year extension in the neighborhood of $40MM per season. DeRozan reportedly wants a longer deal, but Johnson suggests that could just be a negotiating tactic.
“DeMar’s been great for us for three years,” Karnisovas said. “He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. So both sides are interested in continuing and we’ll see what happens in free agency.”
Johnson notes that giving new contracts to DeRozan and Williams without trading LaVine means the Bulls would start next season in luxury tax territory. Karnisovas expressed a willingness to pay the tax, but only for a contender, which heightens the need to move LaVine’s contract.
“My approach looking at the luxury tax is if you can prove that your team is going to be in the top four, you go in the luxury tax,” he said. “It just makes no sense to be in play-in if you’re going to be in the luxury tax. As long as I can put a team together that is going to be competing top four in the East, that’s when you start look at retaining guys and go in the luxury tax.”
Karnisovas also addressed the status of Lonzo Ball, saying the organization will monitor his progress during the offseason, but he’s had no setbacks so far in his latest attempt to return from knee issues that have sidelined him since January of 2022. While Karnisovas didn’t address the possibility, Johnson points out that the Bulls stand to receive $21MM in cap relief if Ball can’t return and an independent doctor declares the injury to be career-ending.
Karnisovas said there’s no plan to replace coach head coach Billy Donovan, who is fresh off an extension and recently stated that he’s not interested in returning to college coaching when his name was floated as a possibility for Kentucky. Although Karnisovas remains loyal to Donovan, Johnson speculates there could be some changes to his staff.
“I like what Billy has done here the last four years. Billy is someone you build a program with,” Karnisovas said. “He’s a very good coach and even a better human being. We established a winning expectation, we defined a profile for the Bulls player and we put an emphasis on player development. It is also on me to facilitate Billy with the resources he needs to build a team that can be successful consistently.”
Ready for a major roster shakeup, but also willing to commit real money to DeMar DeRozan. Moron.
They should resign DeRozan, especially if they can talk him into two seasons. If all else fails they can trade him.
DeRozan is definitely not the problem. He’d get real money lots of places.
DeRozan would get paid elsewhere, but now, $40MM per season?? No one is gonna offer him anything even close to that figure. Such an overpay would doom Chicago to (at least) two more years of mediocrity.
No one is trading for Lavine, Derozan is going to walk. They have nothing going for them
Derozan may not walk if Bulls are dumb enough to throw that big money at him.
First AK statement in years that hasn’t sounded entirely delusional. That’s nice, at least?
You did read him talking about Donovan didn’t you?…
Donovan is an excellent coach. This season the Bulls overachieved because of Donovan’s excellent coaching.
Donovan is that you?
Donovan didn’t have enough talent and size to work with.
Don’t believe that a different coach would have had better results with this Bull’s roster than Donovan.
What was his excuse for sucking with OKC?
When Donovan coached OKC, had five winning seasons in five seasons.
All talk to appease the fans. Nothing is going to change. They will try to resign DeRozan for stupid money and term, not be able to trade LaVine, Lonzo will stay injured and collect that money, and the Bulls will continue to sign bad role players like Craig to fill the holes left by those that leave. Rinse and repeat until either Jerry dies or sells the team. Bulls were #1 in attendance with this team. Jerry ain’t changing sh*t while that money keeps coming in.
Reinsdorf isn’t the problem. Reinsdorf cleaned house a few years ago. Brought in AK, Marc Eversley and Donovan all highly respected. AK came from the Denver. AK had a plan which hasn’t worked. Lonzo Ball getting hurt was very unfortunate and couldn’t be helped or predicted. A few years ago, the Bulls had momentum and then Ball got hurt. Bulls have floundered ever since then.
How long since Lonzo was hurt? Who did we replace him with? If AKME and Donovan are so well respected why did they sit on their hands and not bring in a replacement for the lynchpin to this whole team dynamic? Players are replaceable and replacements were available for two years. They did nothing because their owner does not want to spend to the luxury line. Look at how Jerry runs the White Sox and you can see I am right. Wake up to reality bud.
Unfortunately, the Bulls don’t have the cap room to just replace Lonzo Ball with someone of equal talent. Don’t believe it is that easy.
Well the bigger issue was building the entire team around one guy. Advanced scouting makes it a bit easier though, the problem is this org is clueless especially in getting, and more importantly developing, the talent. As the have found some talented guys but were both impatient and inept at getting the best out of them.
They received an exception for his contract and are looking to see if doctors can call this career ending. They have insurance on these contracts, so the net is zero to the team. Zero dollars, zero change, zero consequences, zero improvement.
Lonzo needs to go, ASAP. They’ve waited on him too long already.
DeRozan has been on the Bulls for three seasons and the Bulls haven’t surpassed the play-in games. So, why will it be different with a 36 year old DeRozan? If he can be kept for reasonable money, the Bulls should retain Patrick Williams. Hard to know what Williams’ potential is if he is the fifth option on offense after DeRozan, LaVine, Vucevic and White. Should see what Williams is actually capable of instead of paying DeRozan 40 million per season. DeRozan is a talent and a great guy, but the Bulls have to be objective and sensible.
Imagine that it will be difficult for the Bulls to trade LaVine until the other teams see LaVine on the floor. Other teams won’t want to take on LaVine and his massive contract until they see the goods.
As painful as the truth is, there is a reckoning coming. Where the Bulls realize (with this org as it sits or another group of ‘The Chairman Jr’ stooges) they have to stop throwing the same thing out there to be middling at best with over priced talent, and no draft picks to speak of, to face the reality and eat the cost and stink to rebuild and sweat out the lackadaisical, unmotivated players with their bloated contracts and build through the draft and player development. The problem is the org, as it sits now, can do neither. They are in a painful limbo and cannot get out of their own way.
Apparently if you wait long enough the light bulb will eventually turn on. They need more size? That was painfully obvious to any fan who has watched David Caruso play PF for the last 2 years and get his brains beat in.
Agreed. Bulls do need a forward or two such as someone like Jaden McDaniels. Someone tall athletic who can play above the rim. Was obvious as far back as training camp that this was missing from the Bull’s roster.
Wow, AK figured it out, only took another lost season that this roster as it sits is ridiculous.
Of course, this type of stuff occurs when you build an offense completely around a guy who has had a knee injury for 2 years then never find a capable replacement (never mind getting penalized for tampering for said player). No draft hope either with all of the picks they have squandered.
Donovon is a joke as well. I blame him and the GM for not sticking with guys like Dosunmu and White in the lineup through thick and thin and see what they can do, as it appears that when they do have a chance they typically show up in big ways and coach them up more to be more consistent (never mind other guys who wre traded who are now playing well for other orgs). All and all this team is an unmotivated team though. Disappearing against subpar talented teams while holding their own, for the most part, against the above average teams.
Its a typical mark on Reinsdorf owned teams, no motivation to get better and play consistently well as there is no accountability, no corrective actions taken when needed. Its ‘CYA’ all the way. Suck up to the Chairman and play enough to get your check when you are not injured…
Caruso, Craig, Carter, Vuc, & LaVine will be gone. Build around Cobi, Ayo, & Williams with DeRozan a possibility if the money is right.
I remember how well they played before Ball went down. Somehow, this team is so much less than the sun of its parts.
White/Ball/DDR/Williams/Vuc
Caruso/Ayo/Lavine/Green/Drummond
That’s a lot of talent. It must really suck to be a Bulls fan.
It must be great though to be the coach of all that talent, Suck, And get a vote of confidence from management. Donovan was so out coached by Spoelstra that it was like a pro coach against a HS coach.
Bulls are mess …… Ball is first thing they should address. I think he’s finished.