The thoughts of Artūras Karnišovas could determine what happens to the Chicago Bulls in the next few seasons.
The last time we heard from the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations, it was right after Thanksgiving. The team was nine games below .500 and on a five-game losing streak. Karnišovas gave a short and mysterious response to the team's slow start.
“We see the same things everyone else does and are just as upset,” Karnišovas told Bulls reporters in Boston. “We're disappointed, but I'm not avoiding it. It's my responsibility.”
Coming from someone who doesn't speak to the media often like Karnišovas, that was a long speech.
But the Bulls boss has been staying in the same place since, hoping for a trade market for Zach LaVine to appear and watching his team make small improvements in the Eastern Conference competition.
With the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaching, LaVine is out again with a sprained right ankle and the Bulls are looking at another fight for a play-in spot. Karnišovas' choices seem limited.
- Stick with the main group and hope they can keep playing well without LaVine (10-7) and then with LaVine in a supporting role (5-2).
- Keep hoping for a newly created market for LaVine's services to appear during the one to two weeks he's expected to be out, so Karnišovas can end this long saga. return in Or stop waiting for a trade market for LaVine that might never develop and instead focus on trading one of his two most valuable assets, DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso. Continue with the current plan or start over?
- We'll have the answer in 19 days.
Saturday’s 125-96 victory
against the Memphis Grizzlies
After at the United Center, the Bulls begin a three-game West Coast trip that starts Monday in Phoenix, moves to Los Angeles for a Thursday game against the Lakers and ends Jan. 28 in Portland, Ore. It’s not exactly the circus trip — those long, early-season journeys required by the arrival of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the old Chicago Stadium or the United Center — on which coach Phil Jackson would give his players books they would pretend to read. But by the time the Bulls return to the West Side on Jan. 30 against the Toronto Raptors, Karnišovas should have a better idea of whether it’s time to move on from this main group and start a new phase.
LaVine, as has been mentioned often, is hard to trade with nearly $140 million left on his five-year, $215 million contract in addition to two recent knee surgeries before his foot and ankle injuries. If he comes back after the trip, he would have four games to show he is healthy and back to his normal self before the trade deadline.
DeRozan, set to become a free agent at the end of the year, seems like the most likely player to be traded due to his contract status and ability to fit in with any contender. At 34, he's still a good scorer and has been a positive influence on the younger players, especially Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.
DeRozan has said he wants to finish his career in Chicago, where he quickly became one of the city's most popular athletes. But with the Bulls far from contending for a title, Karnišovas might be helping DeRozan by giving him a chance to compete for a championship.
Caruso, who got his first NBA All-Defensive First Team selection last season and would be a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year if he could remain healthy, should be a bigger target for teams than DeRozan because he has another year left in his four-year, $37 million deal. He ranked 21st by Saturday in 3-point shooting percentage (.418) and second in deflections (3.4). Once known for his hustle, he’s now a well-rounded player.
The Suns and the Lakers, Caruso’s former team, are likely to be interested if the Bulls choose to actively shop him. Could you imagine Caruso teaming up with Suns guard Grayson Allen, whose hard foul in Milwaukee two years ago fractured Caruso’s right wrist? Or back in Los Angeles with old friend LeBron James, where he started his career and became a beloved figure to Lakers fans?
Of course Bulls fans would be extremely upset if Caruso were traded, a factor that could make Karnišovas think twice before making the decision. Who wants to be booed during a future Ring of Honor ceremony?
Perhaps Karnišovas will make a less flashy move, such as selling high on center Andre Drummond, whose 19 rebounds per 36 minutes is by far the best in the league. Drummond’s work ethic and consistent performance in a backup role to Nikola Vučević has made him one of Karnišovas’s most undervalued signings.
The emergence of White since LaVine first was sidelined Dec. 6 with inflammation on the exterior of his right foot makes Karnišovas’s deadline decisions that much more difficult to make. Perhaps for the first time since January 2022, before Lonzo Ball’s injury ended their chance at contending and started the Bulls on the treadmill of mediocrity, they’re once again fun to watch.
While still inconsistent, White has become a confirmed star. He has averaged career highs in scoring (18.6 points), assists (4.9), 3-point shooting percentage (.397) and field-goal percentage (.454) while coming up in the clutch when given the opportunity from DeRozan. White has already recorded 19 games of 20 or more points, a career high with almost a half-season remaining.
Give LaVine some credit. His willingness to sacrifice his game since he returned — taking fewer shots, distributing the ball and boosting White on and off the court — shows he’s not a sulking star just waiting to get on the first plane out of town.
But as much as the Bulls appreciate his unselfishness, LaVine probably needs to become more aggressive offensively when he returns for the Bulls to succeed. He’s still a star and has been one of the team leaders for six seasons, through thick and thin, setting an example for the kids.
Still, in the three seasons of the LaVine-DeRozan-Vučević era, the Bulls have been consistently inconsistent. Through it all, Karnišovas has kept the faith, and the latest stretch suggests he still might be right in the long run.
But the clock is ticking on this team — and maybe on this era.
Nothing lasts forever.
What’ s going on in Artūras Karnišovas’ s head could decide the fate of the Chicago Bulls for the next several seasons. But the Bulls boss has been running in place since, waiting in vain for a trade market for Zach LaVine to develop and watching his team make incremental improvement in the Eastern Conference race. After Saturday’ s 125-96 victory against the…
Nothing lasts forever.
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