Cavaliers GM Linked to Bulls Front Office Opening

The Chicago Bulls have interest in poaching a current Cavalier to aid in turning around a once proud franchise that now seems destined for the Play-In - at best - season after season.

Late Monday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Bulls have received permission to speak with Cavaliers General Manager Mike Gansey, along with others, about their open head of basketball operations position.

The position became available earlier this month when the team dismissed their executive vice president of basketball ops, Arturas Karnisovas, and their GM, Marc Eversley.

Karnisovas and Eversley oversaw a Bulls team that won just 31 games in 2025-26, the fourth-worst mark in the Eastern Conference.

Gansey, meanwhile, is part of a Cleveland organization that won 52 games this season and currently holds a 1-0 series lead over Toronto in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Gansey’s been the Cavs’ GM since 2022, working under team president Koby Altman.

Following a pro playing career that was mostly outside of the United States, Gansey transitioned into scouting and front office roles with both the Cavs and the team’s G League affiliate, the Canton (now Cleveland) Charge. Prior to being named the Cavaliers’ general manager, Gansey was Cleveland’s Assistant GM. The 43-year-old is a Northeast Ohio native.

What this means for Cavs

Among the notable roster moves made by the Gansey/Altman partnership are the drafting of Evan Mobley and Jaylon Tyson and trades for Jarrett Allen and James Harden. Equally or more impressive than the Cavs’ drafting and talent acquisition via trades under Gansey is the players who Cleveland has added as undrafted free agents.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Craig Porter Jr., and Dean Wade are all regular contributors to the Cavs roster who were signed after going undrafted.

Should Chicago pry Gansey from Cleveland, he’ll walk into a Bulls situation that has potential to quickly turn things around. The Bulls currently have four selections in this summer’s deep Draft. Chicago has their own first-round lottery pick, Portland’s first and a pair of second rounders. The Bulls are projected to have a league-high $60 million in cap space this offseason. They’ve also stated that they intend to keep head coach Billy Donovan in place. In the unlikely event they change course and part ways with Donovan, he’d instantly become the most desirable coach on the market.

If Gansey sticks with the Cavs he’ll have a pair of much later selections in this summer’s Draft. The Cavs are projected to have a late first-round pick depending on the outcomes of some previous pick swaps with numerous teams. Cleveland also has their own second-round pick.

More importantly to the Cavs, and presumably Gansey, the team’s pursuit of a championship 10 years after the franchise’s first and only title. The journey continues Monday evening when Cleveland hosts the Raptors in Game Two of the NBA Playoffs’ opening round.