ORLANDO, Florida — Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas didn’t win the news conference Thursday.
He didn’t even come close to a draw.
No, it was a loss — and a big one at that.
The funny thing about losses around the United Center in recent years, however, is that they’re not quite the anchors most organizations feel.
A drop in the standings, poor performances, bad roster decisions, wrong coaches hired and fired and rebuilds gone wrong are stains not easily removed in most franchises. But the Bulls aren’t most franchises.
The Bulls are big business, and business is booming.
Karnisovas made that clear when he was asked whether he thought his bosses were happy with the job he has done in his first four years in his role.
‘‘I think so,’’ Karnisovas replied. ‘‘Since I came here to Chicago, I wanted to have a competitive team. We came up with a formula in 2021. We’ve had somewhat of a success. Obviously took a step back with some injuries. Any adjustments in the future we have to make, I’m very positive about that, as well.’’
Why shouldn’t he be?
Attendance is once again atop the league, the fan base is invested where it matters and the Bulls are just good enough to creep into a play-in game and maintain the required buzz.
That’s why the anger being thrown at Karnisovas these days is misdirected.
The shepherd would be out of business if the sheep didn’t show up to the field to graze. But Bulls fans won’t stop. They never do. Chicago is a big market, and fans still will take a bite of a mediocre sandwich. After all, a sandwich is a sandwich.
That’s why Karnisovas can slow-play things at the trade deadline. Better to stay the course than color outside the lines and really show a lack of artistic ability.
On paper, extending DeMar DeRozan (because that’s coming) and getting back a healthy Zach LaVine in conjunction with the emergence of Coby White, the defensive prowess of Alex Caruso and the steadiness of Nikola Vucevic makes for a No. 7 to No. 9 seed every year in the Eastern Conference.
Why mess with the formula?
Sure, the Bulls are nowhere near a title and don’t seem to have an understanding about how to build a championship roster. But if they get into the postseason, perhaps the opposition will suffer a big injury and the Bulls can steal a round. The fans would eat it up.
Apple can release a bad phone with minimal changes and have lines around the corner. The business plan for the Bulls is no different. They are Apple; they are Amazon.
There’s a statue of a certain legend in the atrium that has made the franchise a worldwide brand, so there’s a certain mentality of, ‘‘We’re the damn Bulls, and you’re not.’’
So can the fan base call out another round of lackluster results by Karnisovas at the trade deadline? Absolutely. But can they really be angry with him?
‘‘If you look at every option that was out there to improve your team, we didn’t see anything that was going to make us better,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘We would take a step back, which we don’t want.’’
Makes sense. Rebuilds are hard. They temporarily can empty suites and seats. They require a front office not to miss. They expose frauds. Why would this front office jeopardize a good thing at this point?
Karnisovas has been below average as a drafter, and no one knows what general manager Marc Eversley is good at. Why blow up the roster for draft assets, even though that’s how most championship teams are made?
No, Karnisovas has it right. Sit quietly on the hill, stare up at the clouds and nod off to the calming sounds of ‘‘Baaaaaa.’’
