The Chicago Bulls are entering uncharted territory.
After Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley took over the organization in 2020, they had their sights set on a drastic roster overhaul. They traded Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen during their first trade deadline to jumpstart a win-now movement. They followed that up by signing Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and DeMar DeRozan in the offseason. The playoffs clearly became the goal.
Frustratingly, they only managed to accomplish this goal in Year 1. Back-to-back losing seasons forced them to pivot, and we’ve now seen them revert to a roster that’s somewhat similar to the one they initially inherited. The key difference is that uplifting the youth is now the priority, but whether or not they can have more success with this goal is a fair question. And this feels particularly true after Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan joined 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday morning.
The Bulls’ Player Development Approach
Speaking ahead of training camp next week, Karnisovas and Donovan were tossed plenty of questions about the organization’s new direction. While neither spewed false hope about a playoff run (progress!), they also didn’t sound ready to fully embrace the fact that losing tends to come with a youth movement.
โThis idea of ‘hey were just going to take a bunch of young players and throw them out there and give them playing time,’ I think there is also things with development where you got to earn things, too. I think our mentality and focus is that weโre going into every game trying to win,” Billy Donovan said on 670 The Score.
“So when you look at a guy like Matas, yes, part of his development is being on the court. No question. But you also need to develop a routine. He also needs to understand the league. He also needs to understand who heโs playing against. There may be a situation where Arturas and I sit down and maybe with the amount of minutes heโs getting we say, โlisten, he needs to go down to the G-League and get more minutes.โ The development part is such a bigger process than just go on the court work on his shooting and ball-handling.โ
If you hear a faint whistling, I apologize. That must be the steam pumping out of my ears.
Let me first clarify that I do not think everything Donovan said here is problematic. There is certainly value in teaching a young player that minutes have to be earned. Also, no current head coach would ever state that winning isn’t the priority going into a season. Heck, the fact he used the words “trying to win” as opposed to “expecting to win” is noteworthy.
With that said, my blood will boil if I see Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter playing over Matas Buzelis and Dalen Terry. While playing time may not be everything when it comes to player development, it is by far the most important thing.
The Bulls have repeatedly had issues swallowing their pride and placing short-term winning on the back burner. With a drool-inducing 2025 NBA Draft on the horizon – and the Bulls’ first-round pick top 10 protected – this is the perfect time to extend a long leash to young talent. Not only will this give the front office ample time to evaluate the growth of these players, but it will only help them in their quest to keep a much-needed draft pick. It should be a win-win.
This is why Donovan’s comment about Buzelis, in particular, really concerns me. Buzelis should spend zero time in the G-League this season. He just spent an entire season there! The No. 11 pick in the draft must be an immediate part of the rotation if you’re a losing basketball team. Why the heck wouldn’t he be?
Again, I understand that you can’t hand the car keys to a group of youngsters. But you also have to let them drive eventually. This season should be a wide-open parking lot, and the Bulls might as well get in the passenger seat.
To beat this metaphor into the ground, the Bulls have to understand this isn’t going to be a smooth ride. The last thing they should do is convince themselves they’re further ahead than they are. This is how you end up back in Play-In Tournament purgatory. Unfortunately, it’s hard not to believe this is what the front office is already doing. During their youth movement conversation, Karnisovas couldn’t help but mention the reps these players already have.
โWhen we are talking about us being younger, you also look at Coby, this is his sixth year. Patrick, his fifth. Ayo, his fourth. Josh Giddeyโs fourth. Weโre young, but at the same time there is a lot of experience there,” Karnisovas said.
Yes, but how much of this is winning experience?
The truth of the matter is that every one of these players still has a long way to go, and you can’t skip steps in the NBA. The Bulls are doing themselves a disservice if they focus on how close players are to being developed. The focus should strictly be on the development.
Make no mistake, the organization is at least on a better track as they head into the 2024-25 campaign. But they have to understand what goes into properly rebuilding a roster. If they don’t fully lean into this youth movement they’ve created, they’re only going to find themselves back in the very position they’re trying to get out of.