Getty Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls.
As the Chicago Bulls’ season continues to devolve, the only thing that seems apparent is change is coming. They are off to a 5-13 start and all three of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vuceivc have admitted this season is critical. But anyone hoping to see sweeping changes throughout the organization might be disappointed.
Following ownership’s pattern of letting the front office have extended tenures, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is expected to be secure in his position.
“The odd part is: Typically in such circumstances, a coach may be on the hot seat or perhaps management could be in trouble,” wrote K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on November 24. “But … Karnišovas has been given the green light to try to fix the current mess.”
.@KendallG13 just dropped an absolute BAR about leadership
Johnson adds that the “same” applies to head coach Billy Donovan.
“Donovan … is liked and respected by both ownership and management,” Johnson wrote. “While it has happened in recent situations like Fred Hoiberg and Jim Boylen, the Reinsdorfs typically don’t like paying coaches not to work for them. So Donovan is safe, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his staff tweaked moving forward.”
Billy Donovan Not Delivering Bulls Top Exec’s Expectations
The Bulls touted the addition of Peter Patton to the player development staff, citing him as a key to their offseason goal of altering their shot profile.
However, Chicago ranks 21st in three-point efficiency this season shooting 35.1% as a team, per NBA.com. That is five spots lower and one full percentage point less efficient than last season. They have gone from 30th in attempts to 17th, though.
Johnson cites both Donovan and Karnisovas’ respective extensions as part of the reasoning.
Both received contract extensions that were only made public after the fact – several months in Donovan’s case – and the terms of which have not been disclosed in either instance. Karnisovas’ came amid reports of dwindling internal confidence. Donovan is on track to fall short of Karnisova’s stated expectations for the second consecutive season.
The Bulls are on pace for a 23-59 record which would be their worst since the 2019-20 season. Karnisovas was hired during the ensuing offseason.
Bulls Ownership’s Tendencies Have Been Scrutinized Before
Aside from the extended run for the previous front office group, Bulls governor Jerry Reinsdorf’s tendencies as the owner have also been scrutinized. The Bulls have been criticized for not being willing to spend into the luxury tax to improve the team. Especially after Lonzo Ball’s injury. Team president Michael Reinsdorf has said they would spend for a true title-contending team.
But the elder Reinsdorf has also been open about preferring not to spend too heavily. He believes fans simply want to feel the team is in the thick of things down the stretch.
“I think the important thing to fans is, while they want you to win championships, they want to know that when they get down to the last month of the season you still have a shot,” Reinsdorf said at the Milken Institute’s 2023 Global Conference titled ‘Game Changers: The New Business of Sports‘ on May 1. “If you can do that consistently you’ll make your fans happy.”
Unfortunately for Reinsdorf, the team is not giving fans much to root for with their recent play.