Arturas Karnisovas Hire Kicks Off New Era of Bulls Basketball

I was getting ready to go to bed because I’ve had a little trouble sleeping the past couple of nights, but now, I might not sleep tonight anyway. Against all odds, the Bulls have decided now is the time for new blood in the organization. No, it’s not for a position that’s ultimately inconsequential to the basketball product. We’re talking about a new executive vice president of basketball operations not previously tied to the Bulls, and his name is Arturas Karnisovas.

Details still are being finalized as of this writing, but all signs point to this actually happening. Karnisovas has spent the past seven years with the Denver Nuggets, the most recent three as their general manager. In that time, the Nuggets have become one of the top teams in the Western Conference, building through the draft with such players as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Karnisovas even fleeced Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic away from the Bulls in exchange for Doug McDermott the night of the 2014 draft.

The Bulls conducted several interviews for their top executive job this week, and Karnisovas always was at or near the top of their list. Ultimately, the Lithuania native won Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf over with his diverse background, his track record for talent evaluation and ringing endorsements from the Nuggets’ top brass. To hear that from the heads of a team that won 54 games last season and should get a high seed in this year’s playoffs if they ever happen is a great sign. It sure beats hiring Iowa State coaches because we all know how that tends to go around here.

Karnisovas will be charged with overhauling the front office with more basketball operations staff, more scouts, and most importantly, a new general manager. With all that change, a new coach should be on the way, too, so Jim Boylen’s days with the Bulls likely are numbered. John Paxson is expected to remain as an advisor. Still unknown is the fate of Gar Forman, but he and Paxson won’t be holding the jobs they had. Though most of Bulls Nation already has cleaned out both of their offices for them and are waiting for them to vacate the premises, it doesn’t sound like Paxson is being kicked to the curb at this moment, and it’s possible Forman will return to the scouting position he had when he first came to the Bulls.

Karnisovas has his work cut out for him, meaning he has to reshape everything to his liking, which won’t be easy given how broken the Bulls have been for awhile. That means it could be a few more years before they have a team that can get back to the playoffs, let alone contend in the Eastern Conference. It’s clear the current rebuild hasn’t worked, so it’s time to begin a new one headed by the new man in charge. How creative can he get in the first season or two to push everything closer to what he ultimately wants to achieve?

For the first time since Tom Thibodeau was fired, or more likely, since Derrick Rose’s ACL tear, Bulls fans have real hope for the future. The actual change they have been pining for for so long is happening. Quicker than anyone would have expected, anger and apathy have been replaced by bliss and excitement. Before long, raucous crowds dressed in red will fill the United Center once again because a team Chicago can be proud off will have returned to the goodness and glory that has eluded them for so long.