While some players immediately headed to Cancun or the Bahamas once the All-Star break began, Coby White headed to Iowa.
The Chicago Bulls guard was spotted at Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking game on Thursday night. For a little more on that, check out our post here.
The guys over on the Bulls Talk podcast discussed what the word “competitive” means to Arturas Karnisovas. And let’s just say NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson’s thoughts aren’t the most encouraging:
“He didn’t say it in the press conference, but he said it another time to me, his definition of being competitive is making the playoffs. I will say, there has been some goalpost moving here because when he got here, talk was of championships. Then, it’s now shifted to playoffs. A couple of years ago it was making the second round. Now, it’s just getting in. But that’s what he means by competitive.”
So Arturas Karnisovas has only been at the helm of the franchise for three full seasons … and he’s already lowered his bar from championships to simply making the playoffs. Even if this is strictly the goal for this season before he plans to readjust his line of thinking in the offseason, I find this to be a major problem. The definition of being competitive should never be merely making the postseason. A genuinely competitive team has a shot to win the title, and we can all agree the Bulls aren’t anywhere close to that goal.
To be sure, I’m not saying a front office needs to have a championship or tank mentality. But every decision that is made should be in the best interest of building a title contender in the short term or long term. When you’re not operating under that line of thinking, you’re putting yourself in a position to accept mediocrity.
I’m now more frustrated when I think of quotes like this: “We have obligations to this organization and this fan base and this city to stay competitive.” Arturas Karnisovas said those words on Feb. 8 after his third inactive trade deadline. So I guess he’s saying his responsibility to this historic franchise is to simply make the playoffs? Not build a championship-level team for the first time in 25+ years but rather a team that can crack anywhere between the 1-8 seed year in and year out? YIKES.
With the word “competitive” in mind, I went ahead and took a closer look at the numbers. Even under Karnisovas’ disappointing definition, the Bulls are failing to meet the mark. The team is far closer to being a lottery team than a legitimate playoff threat in the East.
FWIW: The NBA buyout market is dwindling. Danilo Gallinari inked a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday after reportedly talking with the Chicago Bulls. All things considered, I’m glad this wasn’t the move for Chicago. The last player they should be investing in right now is a 35-year-old who’s a defensive liability and has struggled to stay healthy.
Don’t get me wrong, Gallinari is a fine addition to Milwaukee, but I want to see the Bulls go after at least someone with the tiniest bit of upside. Furkan Korkmaz is a name I think would make a lot of sense. He’s still only 26 years old with a seemingly solid 3-point shot and great positional size. Is it possible he doesn’t work out and continues to underwhelm? Absolutely! But it’s also possible he shows signs of helping this Bulls team in a position of need. They could then potentially retain him for pretty darn cheap in the offseason. You can never have enough wings in today’s NBA, so why not give Korkmaz a trial run?
ICYMI: DeMar DeRozan announced this week that the first episode of his new show “Dinners with DeMar” will air on Feb. 20. The series of short films will feature discussions about mental health with several NBA stars. The forward dropped a sneak peek of the upcoming project on his YouTube page, which is also where the episodes will air. Check it out:
For some reason, you will soon be able to watch live NBA games in the style of your favorite movies. What? You’ve never thought, “why the heck isn’t this Bulls broadcast directed by Guillermo del Toro!?”
Adam Silver and Wemby unveil NB-AI at NBA All-Star Tech Summit in Indy – now you can use your voice to activate “movie mode” and make a live NBA game look like your favorite film pic.twitter.com/NItNQSvyTC— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2024
I still can’t believe how fast he did this.
33 years ago today, Michael Jordan pulls off one of the greatest layups in NBA history 🐐 pic.twitter.com/9qHXSqtmva
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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