Arturas Karnisovas placed the blame of last season’s failures solely on his shoulders.
The Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations made that very clear when the 2023-24 campaign again went down the drain in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, watching his franchise sent home by the Miami Heat on South Beach.
“In this business you win or you learn, 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,” Karnisovas said in his April presser, putting a bow on yet another underachieving season for the organization.
“We will look for ways to improve and we 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.”
Fast forward to Monday’s media day.
Changes were unquestionably made the last five months. Karnisovas was 100% spot on with that. But the improvements that Karnisovas was striving for?
Call it playing the slow game.
In trading both Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan over the summer, Karnisovas said goodbye to his best defender and top plus/minus guys in Caruso, and one of the elite clutch closers in the game in DeRozan. Then factor in Andre Drummond was allowed to walk into free agency, and bye-bye elite rebounder off the bench.
According to Karnisovas, however, the make-over is not complete.
He spoke about it during Summer League and again in a radio interview last week, making sure that before the townspeople started gathering with torches around the United Center, there was a clear understanding that the changes weren’t complete.
What does that mean exactly?
Go ahead and restart the clock on Zach LaVine trade watch.
It’s no longer if the Bulls are looking to move the two-time All-Star at this point. It’s will they find any takers before the February trade deadline.
And then if that deadline comes and goes without the No. 8 on the move, can it be resolved next offseason?
What happens on the court for the Bulls is secondary to Karnisovas finding a new home for LaVine.
A key storyline for the Bulls? It’s really the only storyline for them.
Here are the secondary storylines as Bulls camp is set to tip off:
Coby’s climb
Coby White flashed All-Star caliber talent last season, evident by being a finalist in the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
White watched his scoring average go from 9.7 points per game to 19.1, earning big minutes in big moments. Now his defense has to take that jump, making White a true two-way guard. If he can do that in Year 6, All-Star Game appearances will follow.
A leg up
What is Lonzo Ball capable of after three left knee surgeries since joining the Bulls, and not playing in an NBA game since Jan. 14, 2022?
Camp will start to give those answers, as well as a possible plan on how Ball will factor into the rotation once the games start. Josh Giddey will be the starting point guard, but Ball could have a say in the back-up role and running the second unit.
“It” factor
Rookie Matas Buzelis was one of the standouts in Summer League, showing an attitude and “it” factor that Bulls rookies have lacked since maybe Bobby Portis. This will be a tough rotation to crack but if the Bulls truly are in a youth movement then they have to give Buzelis some healthy minutes.