So What is Arturas Karnisovas’ Process? And Other Bulls Bullets
BN Bulls Twitter didn’t have a blue checkmark before it was cool!
- I believe that Arturas Karnisovas has good intentions. But whether or not intentions lead to results is a whole other thing. All he’s done is preach this idea of continuity and sustainability and how that would help accomplish the ultimate goal of winning. Yet, after his first winning season at the helm of the franchise, the team immediately proceeded to plummet back down the standings. Indeed, you never knew what you were going to get from this Chicago Bulls team on any given night, which is the exact opposite of what Karnisovas had wanted. The question now is what will he do about it? And will it be enough?
- Karnisovas spoke in the Bulls’ latest episode of All-Access, accepting accountability for a lost season and reiterating his win-now mindset. But it still doesn’t give us any clear idea of what rests ahead for the team this offseason.
“My responsibility every day is how we can make this team better. And that’s going into the offseason the No. 1 priority for me. We’re accountable for the results, front office, players, coaches. My No. 1 responsible is going to the United Center and those people that come to see our games can see more W’s. Our group is good. We got a process in place. We just have to figure out how we can compete with top teams. And we have this offseason to figure it out.”
- Karnisovas most definitive moment during his end-of-season press conference came when he said that a full-blown rebuild wasn’t on his mind. Considering he also repeated over and over that everything was “on the table” with this team, I’m not sure how much I actually believe that comment. But, fine, let’s assume that the Bulls aren’t going to blow the whole thing up. How do you plan to fix it? Change is inevitable with the number of players up for new contracts this summer. It also should be inevitable after the depressing season we just watched. He says in the quote above that the Bulls have a “process in place,” but does anyone really know what this process looks like?
- I understand that leadership isn’t going to spill all the beans on their game plan. But Karnisovas holds things so close to the vest that it’s impossible not to question if he’s holding anything at all. You can’t say that winning is the priority and proceed to do nothing about it. That’s what he did last offseason and that’s what he did again at this past trade deadline. If there is a process in place, I’m waiting to see it in action. Unless that process truly is blankly staring and this core and handing everyone an extension? Also, it’s hard for me not to question this idea of a “process” when you follow it up with a sentence about how you still need to figure out how to compete with top teams. Shouldn’t that be the whole point of a pre-determined process?
- You can watch the full All-Access episode with team commentary here:
- I’m also waiting for the Bulls to understand that the NBA never slows down. Their minimal movement last offseason was a primary reason why we saw them take a significant step backward this year. The rest of the Eastern Conference kept pushing forward as they sat on their hands. And many teams in the East are going to try to do the same thing again this summer.
- Take the Toronto Raptors, for example. They officially moved on from head coach Nick Nurse earlier this morning after a .500 campaign. Finishing one spot ahead of the Bulls in the standings the past two seasons, they’re looking for a new leader to help widen the gap even more. They also added Jakob Poeltl at the trade deadline, who was expected to be one of the most high-profile free agents in this upcoming free agency.
- DeMar DeRozan was in the house to watch the Suns take a 2-1 lead on the Clippers.
- He also had some wise words to share yesterday …
- Congrats, old friend.
- More trades!!??
