On Saturday, Chicago Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas addressed the media with a retrospective statement on the team's 2023-24 season. After delivering prepared remarks, Karnisovas held a question-and-answer session with reporters. Here are five observations from the Karnisovas postseason press conference.
'We Didn't Meet Expectations'
Karnisovas in prepared remarks concluded that the Bulls' season "didn't meet expectations," adding for further context that "we aren't here for the play-in." The tone of his remarks diverged from his trade-deadline assessment, which cemented "competitive" as his simple expectation for the remainder of the Bulls season.
Overall, Karnisovas' rhetoric about the Bulls not meeting expectations must receive tangible front-office action if fans are to truly believe the current roster isn't what the AKME regime ordered last off-season.
'This Group Hasn't Worked'
Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune asked Karnisovas if Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan had a "place and a path forward" on the Bulls roster. Karnisovas' initial answer didn't directly acknowledge either by name, as he steered the focus toward "looking at the totality in this group." He added that "this group hasn't worked," creating an implication that the Bulls' front office could seriously weigh roster changes that may see LaVine or DeRozan on the move.
The Bulls' roster construction questions will also extend far beyond Lavine and DeRozan. Per Spotrac, Alex Caruso is extension eligible and Lonzo Ball's contract will expire after next season. Meanwhile, the Bulls face challenging offseason decisions as DeRozan, Andre Drummond, and fan favorite Javonte Green are all unrestricted free agents, while Patrick Williams is a restricted free agent.
The elephant in the Bulls' front office will be how to navigate free agency while avoiding the luxury tax. As of this writing, Chicago is $41,358,176.00 under the luxury tax, which is payroll space that likely doesn't divide well among the current Bulls entering free agency, a 2024 first-round draft pick, and any new player acquisitions the team could make during the offseason.
Karnisovas also disclosed an interesting detail about his decision criteria for taking roster payroll into the luxury tax, which amounts to the Bulls performing as a top-four Eastern Conference seed as a prerequisite for such spending.
AK and Billy Donovan's Job Security
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Karnisovas delivered a positive endorsement of Billy Donovan's job security.
"I like what Billy has done here for the past four years. Billy is someone you build a program with," Karnisovas said.
Donovan's job, in the eyes of Karnisovas, is safe as he acknowledged he must do a better job "to help him [Billy Donovan]." While fielding a question about his own job security, Karnisovas remarked that [Bulls ownership] "Jerry [Reinsdorf] and Michael [Reinsdorf] have been really supportive [of me]."
What It Means
Overall, Bulls fans should expect minimal, if any, change in the coaching and front-office leadership. Additionally, it's questionable how much roster turnover will actually occur this offseason aside from the risk that some Bulls free agents may sign elsewhere.
Yes, the Bulls must change, but the front office may not have the leverage or resources it needs to enact the transformation Karnisovas spoke about for 20 minutes on Saturday.
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