Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas spoke some powerful words Saturday at the Advocate Center.
He spoke about failed expectations, lessons learned and changes in the offing. It was an admission of a job gone wrong under his watch.
Karnisovas delivered a prepared statement, then answered questions from the heart — perhaps for the first time since taking the job in 2020.
They were powerful words, indeed.
Unfortunately, that’s the issue surrounding Karnisovas and the Bulls at this point of his tenure. Considering the Bulls missed the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons and some of the roster decisions that have been made, he should be past words at this point.
‘‘In this business, you win or you learn,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘So while I can be happy with some growth and learning this year, I won’t be satisfied until we bring a championship to the city of Chicago. That’s why I was hired, that’s why I am here and my mission remains unchanged.
‘‘I’m planning on sitting down with the staff for exit interviews, and then I will sit down with [coach] Billy [Donovan], [general manager] Marc [Eversley] and our front office to see what’s next, what worked, what didn’t. We will look for ways to improve and will address our shortcomings through the draft, trades and free agency. I take full responsibility, however, and recognize when changes need to be made, and I believe that time is now.’’
That’s where it gets tricky. Karnisovas & Co. can want the changes they want, but the market must be amenable for those changes to happen, especially if it means trading Zach LaVine — which
remains a top priority this summer — or making a tough decision on the medical future of injured guard Lonzo Ball.
What the Bulls no longer can do is brag about being a global brand but operate like a mom-and-pop store. Locally, several media outlets — including the Sun-Times — have pointed out for years that the Bulls seem to prioritize the business of basketball over winning games.
Whether it has been staying below the luxury-tax threshold or making safe moves or no moves at all at the trade deadline, butts in the seat seemingly have taken precedence over victories in the standings.
The Bulls are finding out the national perception also has been growing in that direction. That’s why Karnisovas was asked about his — and the Bulls’ — priorities.
‘‘I always think about basketball,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘I’m thinking about winning, and that’s why I am here. I am not here to stay in the middle. But I think the formula we came up [with] three years ago, I thought it was working until a couple of injuries, and we’re going to have to find these answers in this offseason. Obviously, the results are not what we wanted, and . . . it’s on me to figure it out.’’
That’s something he will continue to have full autonomy to do. When he was asked whether Michael or Jerry Reinsdorf has turned up the heat on his job security, he responded: ‘‘No, I’ve gotta do my job better. It’s my responsibility. This program is my responsibility. Jerry and Michael have been really supportive. Obviously, their expectation is better results. That’s why diving into this offseason I put an emphasis on turning this program around.’’
It won’t be an easy fix, with trading LaVine and the $138 million left on his max contract, kicking the tires on trading center Nikola Vucevic and wanting to re-sign forwards DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams on the to-do list.
‘‘DeMar’s been great for us for three years,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. Both sides are interested in continuing, so we’ll see what happens in free agency.’’
What is refreshing is that it finally sounded as though everything is on the table. Donovan and the front office seem to be safe, but Karnisovas no longer sounded married to any one idea, including staying away from a rebuild or the played-out ‘‘continuity’’ philosophy.
‘‘We obviously can’t roll [out] the same team again and expect different results,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘We definitely understand that, even with some of the positivity with the clutch wins and overtime wins, we’re still at 39 [wins] and at the play-in. We have to somehow generate an additional 10 wins. Even with the injuries we suffered this year, we need to change things.
‘‘It’s a results-driven business. I’ll be evaluated based on results, and I expect that. I just have to do a better job of putting the group together. We all want to win. That’s what I’m here for; that’s what I’m going to try to do every year. When we come up short, that’s not the result that we want.’’
