Top Six Bulls Stories of 2020
2020 was hard on everybody, including and especially the Bulls. In a way, the Bulls were a metaphor for how the year played out: It went very poorly most of the time, but some hope arrived by the end. Much like we now have two vaccines to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Bulls have some things they didn’t at the start of the year that provide hope for a better tomorrow. We’ll go over all of that as we list the top six Bulls stories from the past calendar year:
No Bulls at NBA All-Star Game in Chicago
As hard as Zach LaVine tried, he was shut out of giving the Bulls even one representative in the first NBA All-Star Game held in Chicago since 1988. He had to settle for a spot in the Three-Point Contest, which he didn’t even place in. Wendell Carter Jr. was selected for the Rising Stars Challenge, but an injury forced him to miss it. On top of all of that, Bulls fans hijacked a remote broadcast of ESPN’s First Take with “Fire GarPax” chants, punctuating an overall embarrassing weekend for the city and organization.
Arturas Karnisovas hired as Executive Vice President
Late one weeknight, the Bulls shocked everybody by announcing that the Denver Nuggets’ general manager would be their new head of basketball operations. This was news Bulls fans had wanted for a long time and were at the point where they thought it might never happen. But it did happen, and suddenly, the future looked a lot brighter. For once, someone with no previous ties to the organization would be calling the shots.
Gar Forman fired; John Paxson reassigned
If the Karnisovas hiring was welcome news for Bulls Nation, what followed was even better. Forman was relieved of his general manger duties in favor of Marc Eversley. Paxson is too respected by Jerry Reinsdorf to just be sent packing, so instead of getting a pink slip, he merely was moved to a senior advisory role. Still, the big bad front office of old was no more, and that was enough to celebrate.
Bulls left out of Orlando Bubble
After four months of no play, the NBA resumed its season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World with COVID-19 protocols in place. With the Bulls well out of playoff contention, they were one of eight teams not invited. Even with the new guys now running the organization, it illustrated just how bad the old guard had let things get. If there are any long-term effects of not being able to take part in this unique experience, it would not be surprising.
Jim Boylen out; Billy Donovan in
Though it took longer than many felt it should have, the Bulls finally let go of Jim Boylen as head coach. A month later, that spot was filled by Billy Donovan, who had just finished his tenure in the same role with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both moves were widely praised by both fans and media. Whereas Boylen was a symbol of everything that had gone wrong with the Bulls of late, Donovan represented winning as well as someone who knew how to connect with his players, and the whole thing couldn’t have gone better.
Patrick Williams selected with fourth pick
After being stuck with the seventh selection in the draft three years in a row, the ping pong balls looked favorably on the Bulls this time and moved them up to fourth in the lottery. At Donovan’s behest, the Bulls picked forward Patrick Williams out of Florida State. Many were skeptical of the choice since he never even started in his lone college season, but he quickly won everyone over with an impressive preseason, and his reward was a spot in the starting lineup. The praise rightfully has continued in the early part of the season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the All-Rookie Team.
