Bulls management discusses DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and the direction of the franchise Originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
LAS VEGAS — In April, The Chicago Bulls Management promised changes. In July, management promised more changes.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Chicago writers, executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley made good on their draft night promise to detail their vision and direction for the franchise following free agency.
That period, which followed the trade of Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey and the selection of Matas Buzelis in June, produced the re-signing of Patrick Williams, the signing-and-trading of DeMar DeRozan for Chris Duarte and two second-round picks, the signing of Jalen Smith and the exercise of Torrey Craig’s player option.
And according to Karnišovas and Eversley, they’re not done yet.
“After the season, I talked about the changes that were coming. We were truthful,” Karnišovas said. “I think we are targeting very specific players: Giddey, in free agency, bringing in certain players like Jalen Smith, this year’s draft pick.
“In terms of the youth movement, as a word itself, I would say that we have a lot of experienced young people who are moving in the right direction. And I think that the changes that are happening now will help us build the future. That is the best way to do it. And it is not yet a finished product. There will be constant adjustments.
“And I think three years ago when we came up with our plan, our formula, it worked for a short period of time until we ran into injuries. The reactions, the second year and then obviously we waited a third year to see where we were. Now, we’re making these changes. You could argue it’s too late or too soon. But that’s where we are right now.”
In fact, management has moved on to its second iteration of the roster after aggressively revamping the roster they inherited from March through August 2021. That’s when they traded for Nikola Vucevic and acquired Lonzo Ball, Caruso and DeRozan in a very active free agency period for a core that led the Eastern Conference for half a season in 2021-22 until Ball’s injury issues began.
The Bulls then produced one playoff win and two playoff-less seasons, leading to widespread questioning as to why management didn’t convert assets into cash before this offseason.
“We felt we owed it to that group to give them a chance to solve the problem,” Karnišovas said. “And when we didn’t manage to do that, then it was up to us to lead the team and make changes. And that’s what happened.”
The most significant change was the signing and trading of DeRozan, who produced one of the most impressive three-season individual stretches in franchise history and earned praise for everything from his play on the court to his leadership off it.
“I think the leadership, both on and off the court,” Eversley said, when asked what the Bulls will miss most about DeRozan. “I think he was an extension of (coach) Billy (Donovan) on and off the court. The three years he gave us were incredible, far exceeded my expectations.
“When we met with him (in August 2021) and talked about the opportunity, we were committed to winning. And we wanted to win right away. And as far as your question about whether we waited too long (to change course), I think DeMar was almost central to that decision to not give these guys one more opportunity. Like we told him, we’re going to give them a chance to win and he was a gigantic part of that reason why we did that.
“You know, I would love for him to still be a Chicago Bull right now. But I think doing the right thing for the organization and letting him explore that opportunity to go somewhere else and try to win, we weren’t positioned well enough to bring him back. And second, trying to help him pursue that dream (of winning) as well.”
Karnišovas added: “It’s very difficult to part ways with a guy who represents your values and who invests in the organisation, the young people. It’s very difficult.”
The only scenario in which DeRozan could have returned would have been if the Bulls had found a trade for Zach LaVine. And even then, once the Caruso trade happened, a new direction was set.
There is little trade market for LaVine, who has fully recovered from foot surgery in March and is having a normal offseason. And it’s clear that signing a player for the sole purpose of trading him would not be consistent with the new direction management has chosen.
“We expect Zach to be fully healthy. And he is. I think he can help this group next year. He’s been professional,” Karnišovas said. “Once again, he’s healthy. We expect him to be with us at the start of training camp.”
Management is convinced that LaVine’s injury issues contributed to his slow start last season, at a time when he struggled early on. Perhaps overly optimistically, management is counting on LaVine to get back to a young core and a style of play for Donovan and not limit the growth of key new pieces like Coby White, Williams and Giddey.
Management also expects Ball to be in training camp and see how his recovery progresses from there.
This isn’t to say that they won’t trade LaVine, but it’s to say that the Bulls won’t make a bad trade just to get rid of him.
“I don’t think there’s a perfect way to do things in terms of sequence,” Karnišovas said of the new roster’s overall approach. “We prefer certain things to be done first. I think in terms of sequence it’s very difficult to predict what the market will be like. That’s why I say I don’t know what’s going to happen. After the season, I said everything is on the table. We’re not going to make deals that don’t make us better. We’re going to be patient with that. But I think we’re a long way from a finished product now.”
Another of those key pieces is Williams, who renewed his contract for five years and 90 million dollars.
“I think the expectations, again, will depend on Patrick. He knows that he has had four up-and-down years, two seasons where he was injured, so he couldn’t show what he can do,” Karnišovas said. “We said during the year that it would have been great to have him this year with that group to see what he can do, to give us more confirmation. But I think we thought we had signed him to a pretty good contract for a player who has already been in our league for four years and is still only 22 years old. We had discussions with his agent for quite some time.
“The biggest thing for me was that when we didn’t have Patrick in the lineup, I felt how small we are. Plus, you’re taking away one of your best shooters. It was a shame he had that injury. I think his best times are still ahead of him.”
Are they for the Bulls? Time will tell. What is clear is that regardless of whether this qualifies as a youth movement or a rebuild, regardless of whether the Bulls keep their top-10 protected because of the Spurs in the 2025 NBA Draft, a new iteration of the roster is forming.
And the Bulls aren’t done making changes, as they look to get as many of their young players as possible to improve.
“I am very demanding of myself. I don’t run away from responsibility. I have always taken responsibility and I know that I am responsible for where this program is going to go,” Karnišovas said. “I think all of us here, myself, Marc and the rest of the group, understand that the results are not there and it is up to us to figure it out. But I think the changes we started to make and will make in the future will shape the future of this organization.”
