NEWSLETTER
I think we all have a lot more things to worry about right now than how the Bulls plan to clean up their front office (you know, like washing our hands). But a season on hiatus doesn’t mean all the Bulls troubles have magically disappeared.
Once play resumes, the Bulls will be in the same fetal position, and getting kicked around by roughly 23 NBA teams. That is unless Bulls ownership decides to use this downtime to their advantage.
While we’ve been trained to take the “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach to the Bulls organization, some sort of large-scale front office change before the start of next season feels almost inevitable. Indeed, the team has already been on the hunt for a new “empowered” voice, with the Pacers’ Chad Buchanan and Thunder’s Sam Presti reportedly driving the internal conversations. The structure itself has remained a mystery – and it’s unclear how large of a role (if any) executives Gar Forman and John Paxson will play moving forward – but change is on the horizon.
And no matter the circumstances, the Bulls now have some extra time to ponder all of this.
Sure, it’ll be tough to do hold too many interviews or face-to-face meetings over the next couple months, but coming up with a legitimate plan during this time is essential. It’s an unfortunate opportunity (to focus all of your man-power, time, and energy to this hunt at this time), but an opportunity nonetheless.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski addressed this general topic in his latest episode of The Woj Pod, and he makes a very important point.
“Is it possible we could see coaching changes/front office changes during this hiatus? That if you were going to wait later on to make some of those changes, you would really be tightening your window to (a) do a search and (b) make a hire, and then (c) get that person moving toward the next season and what needs to be done. So that will be an interesting thing to watch the longer this thing extends out.”
If the Bulls aren’t proactive about addressing this situation now, they might dig themselves a deeper hole in the future (they do seem to love that, though). The consensus right now is that the league itself might not make a return until June, and if that’s the case, the NBA could be playing basketball through the end of the summer.
Everything from the draft to free agency to training camp will be altered in one way or another. The offseason itself could not only be incredibly busy but also sped up. If the Bulls could have a new foundation in place before the weirdness of this impending offseason kicks in that would be ideal, however, what they need is at least a game plan that is set in stone.
Even when the league resumes play, the NBA will be operating in uncharted waters. And there is no better way to enter the depths of the unknown than with a solid foundation in place. So while the NBA figures out their future, the Bulls must figure out their own.
