There’s no date just yet.
No exact agenda.
But the meeting is coming. And what an intriguing meeting it will be.
Is there a legitimate trade market for forward Thad Young, and do the Bulls want to even dabble in it? Extend Zach LaVine, wait or is there a blockbuster deal that will change the direction of the organization? Forget selling; do the Bulls chase down the March 25 trade deadline as buyers?
All fair discussions that have to be on the table sooner or later for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. They might have to make their biggest decisions since hiring Billy Donovan as coach.
Those decisions get more complicated with each victory by the Bulls (13-16), such as the 122-114 win Saturday against the Kings at the United Center.
LaVine had another stellar performance, scoring 38 points and shooting 15-for-20 from the field.
Young had 18 points off the bench, including the dagger — a layup with 45 seconds left. Rookie forward Patrick Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
How the front office views the roster will be interesting. With a standings logjam in the Eastern Conference, there really are only three teams that seem sound enough to hold top billing, led by Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Milwaukee. Boston, Indiana and Toronto are likely to round out the top six, but after that, it’s a mishmash of mediocrity, with the Bulls right in that mix for a play-in postseason chance.
So while most of the speculation has been about being sellers, could they actually flip the narrative, decide this young group needs to experience meaningful games and look to add? Donovan wasn’t ruling anything out.
“Just based on my conversations with Arturas and Marc, we’re a little bit a ways away from the trade deadline, but there is going to be a time period where I think we’re all going to sit down and talk,’’ Donovan said. “Nothing has been presented to me in terms of any ideas or suggestions of buying, selling or anything like that. I don’t have anything on that. My focus has been on trying to continue to help the group get better and improve and to try to help the team get better.
“But I know in speaking to Arturas that he wants to sit down and have a conversation at some point, probably a couple of weeks before we’re out from the trade deadline.’’
Until then, however, the goal is simple, Donovan said. And with the Bulls playing solid basketball in four consecutive games, the schedule this week allows these players to continue changing minds in the front office.
‘‘I think I’ve mentioned this,’’ Donovan said, ‘‘Arturas has been very, very patient. He’s evaluating the team and watching the team and looking at it very, very closely.’’
One player who has been easy to evaluate is LaVine, who had another 30-plus scoring performance but also has become a willing defender.
So why did it take so long to figure out the defensive side of the ball?
“I think a lot of it is learning,’’ LaVine said. “Everybody learns at their own pace. It could be system, it could be the players around you, and then for me personally, it could be you get to a point where you get tired of losing, and you can’t just blame other people. You’ve got to look at yourself and figure out what you have to do better to help.
“I’m with all that, and I have all the capabilities of being a really good two-way player, and I want to show that.’’