The Bleacher Nation Newsletter
Posts
It's Time to Have a Conversation About Artūras Karnišovas

It's Time to Have a Conversation About Artūras Karnišovas

With the Artūras Karnišovas honeymoon a distant memory, the Bulls basketball czar has lost the fan base's faith, and for good reason.

Patrick K. Flowers
February 05, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, but the Zach LaVine trade conversations are dead in the water after we learned this weekend that LaVine will undergo season-ending surgery on his foot and miss the next four to six months.

The Bulls announced the injury in a press release over the weekend.

“After seeking additional medical opinions, in consultation with the Chicago Bulls training and medical staff, guard Zach LaVine and Klutch Sports Group have elected surgery on LaVine’s right foot as the next step in his recovery process. Surgery is anticipated the week of February 5.”

That’s it when it comes to the speculation surrounding whether or not LaVine will be a Bull after the trade deadline passes on Thursday afternoon. LaVine is here to stay for the remainder of the 2023-24 season and perhaps beyond. LaVine’s trade value was already in question. A season-ending foot injury that will keep him sidelined well into the summer certainly isn’t going to make teams more interested in acquiring his max contract.

But even before the injury, there wasn’t much hope of the Bulls being able to escape that contract ahead of the deadline. Multiple insiders believe that the Bulls would be quiet at the deadline altogether, something that’s becoming a signature of the Artūras Karnišovas era in Chicago.

When Karnišovas arrived in Chicago nearly four years ago, he blew up his inherited roster. Only LaVine and Coby White remain from the Gar-Pax era.

Karnišovas sent Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. to Orlando and two future first-rounders in the Nikola Vučević trade.

Chandler Hutchison, Daniel Gafford, and Luke Kornet were shipped out in a three-team deal that brought Troy Brown Jr. and Daniel Theis to Chicago. Neither of those players remains on the roster.

Tomáš Satoranskÿ, Garrett Temple, and a second-round draft pick were sent to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade deal that brought Lonzo Ball to Chicago. Ball hasn’t played since January 14, 2022, and has undergone three surgeries on his knee in the 26 months since.

Thad Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a first-round pick, and two second-rounders went to San Antonio in the DeMar DeRozan sign and trade. DeRozan has been the jewel of Karnišovas’ tenure in Chicago.

Lauri Markkanen was traded to Cleveland in a much-needed change of scenery for Markkanen. That deal netted the Bulls’ Derrick Jones Jr., a future first-round and second-round pick.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, at the time, Karnišovas wrecking-ball roster construction was promising, and it re-energized a fan base that had gone through some dark years with Gar Forman and John Paxson running the show.

Since then, Karnišovas has only made one trade and none at the last two NBA trade deadlines. Even this offseason, Karnišovas continued to preach continuity within the roster, simply swapping out low-cost free agents to run it back with a core that has proven nothing.

Karnišovas had a plan, and that’s more than it seemed the Bulls had when the previous regime was around. There would be a three-year contention window with LaVine, Ball, DeRozan, and Vučević as his core four. It wasn’t a bad plan.

When all four players were healthy, the Bulls looked like a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference. But since Lonzo Ball, the maestro of that offense, went down with a knee injury that has sidelined him for over two years, the Bulls have never been the same.

At some point, Karnišovas has to admit that they will never be the same and that his plan, for all its promise, has failed. It’s time to move on. Sitting out a third straight trade deadline would be an act of negligence that would evaporate any remaining public trust Karnišovas has.

Thanks to his latest season-ending injury, LaVine isn’t going anywhere, but Karnišovas has options. There’s a path to change for the Bulls. Still, it would require Karnišovas to trade two of his best acquisitions in Chicago, Alex Caruso, and DeMar DeRozan, and kiss any chances of a Play-In Tournament berth goodbye.

If Karnišovas fails to begin shaping the future of the Bulls by saying goodbye to two of his best acquisitions between now and Thursday afternoon, then it might be time to start having a conversation about whether or not Karnišovas is the right man for the job in Chicago.

Yesterday’s Best

CHICAGO BEARS

Much like the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, is a time for NFL coaches and executives to get together. Naturally, conversations regarding the offseason ahead take place. At the Senior Bowl this weekend, rival NFL executives seemed to agree about what the Bears should do at Quarterback in 2024: Draft Caleb Williams.
After Kliff Kingsbury dashed the Raiders’ hopes this weekend to take the OC job in Washington, Las Vegas pivoted to former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Connor Bedard appeared on Rogers’ pre-game show before the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon and, of course, was asked about how he feels and if there’s a timeframe for his return to the Blackhawks’ lineup.