{"id":569308,"date":"2026-02-06T00:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/569308\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:43:22","slug":"chicago-bulls-makeover-puts-heat-on-arturas-karnisovas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/569308\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bulls makeover puts heat on Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you went to Maxwell Street in the 1970s and bought nine used hubcaps, you probably had a decent chance of finding one that might go with your rusty, old Buick.<\/p>\n

If you were an NBA executive at the 2026 trade deadline and acquired nine second-round draft picks, you also might have a chance of finding a player who could change your team\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure whether Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas is a thrifty shopper outside of his job, but he seems to have cornered the market on second-round picks, so I\u2019m guessing he\u2019s comfortable looking at the bargain bins in secondhand stores.<\/p>\n

Karni\u0161ovas is taking some flak for his trade-deadline maneuvering<\/a>, which was a complete reversal of form from recent deadlines, which is to say he finally did something<\/a>. With so many players on expiring contracts \u2014 including starters Coby White<\/a> and Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107<\/a> and key sixth man Ayo Dosunmu<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Karni\u0161ovas had little choice but to hold a yard sale this week, much like Cubs President Jed Hoyer did with his summer sell-off at the 2021 MLB trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Like Hoyer, Karni\u0161ovas knew this Bulls team was going nowhere and none of the \u201cbig\u201d names he was shopping would re-sign, so he bit the bullet and got what he could in return. It wasn\u2019t much, but in Chicago we tend to overvalue players we love, so maybe an aging Vooch, an injury-plagued Coby and an energetic hometown hero in Ayo weren\u2019t really as valuable as many fans believe.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s water under the bridge. So what\u2019s the plan now, AK?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis process takes time,\u201d Karni\u0161ovas said Thursday, repeating the mantra of every rebuilding executive in sports history.<\/p>\n

Of course, Karni\u0161ovas doesn\u2019t believe in rebuilds and refused to call this one, referring to it as \u201ca stage.\u201d He pointed to the draft and to financial flexibility for the offseason that might entice free agents.<\/p>\n

But what makes him think any high-caliber free agent would choose to play in Chicago after looking at the current state of the organization?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, all we can do is prepare for free agency and have our targets in play,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a lot of flexibility. I think Chicago is still a desirable market for players to come. We\u2019re just going to take one thing at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, sure.<\/p>\n

That means first seeing what he has with the current roster, which now includes a plethora of young guards, several of them former first-round picks who haven\u2019t lived up to their draft-day billing. It\u2019s Josh Giddey\u2019s team now, and Matas Buzelis and Jalen Smith will have to step up and show some game-to-game consistency. Anfernee Simons could become a viable offensive piece, and maybe Jaden Ivey can if he stays healthy.<\/p>\n