Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas is asking for patience following the team’s third consecutive exit in the NBA play-in tournament. Despite another losing season and a blowout loss to the Miami Heat on their home floor Wednesday, Karnišovas remained optimistic about the Bulls’ long-term vision and the progress made this season.
“I’m asking for fans’ patience,” Karnišovas said Thursday. “Because we’re in the first year of that transition. I thought the way we finished the year showed some promise. It’s hard to win games in this league.”
Chicago Bulls Face Play-In Exit for Third Straight Season
The Bulls finished 39-43 for the second straight season, once again falling short of making the Eastern Conference playoffs. This marks Chicago’s third straight season ending in a play-in defeat and their fifth consecutive year without advancing past the first round of the postseason.
Still, Karnišovas pointed to Chicago’s 15-5 finish to the regular season as a sign of progress, even though many of those wins came against teams either tanking or resting stars.
“It’s not a victory lap,” he said. “But I think there’s some positives. And I think we’ve got to keep on building on this group by adding another player in the lottery, by going to free agency and adding another piece.”
The Bulls’ roster has undergone significant changes in the past year. Chicago traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso in the offseason and dealt Zach LaVine at the February deadline. The team also adopted a more uptempo style of play, led by breakout guard Coby White, who averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game.
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Josh Giddey, acquired in the Caruso trade, found his rhythm late in the season and is expected to become a restricted free agent. Meanwhile, rookie Matas Buzelis made steady improvement over the course of the year. Despite these individual developments, the Bulls still lack a franchise-altering star — and without a full teardown or top lottery pick, the path to acquiring one remains unclear.
“I think there is a plan,” Karnišovas said. “We’re always going to be looking at how to improve this roster by adding a player or a high-caliber player. At the same time, I would not put any limitations on this roster or on the way Coby has been playing, or the way Josh has been playing.”
While Bulls fans may be growing impatient, Karnišovas said he maintains a strong working relationship with team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and CEO Michael Reinsdorf. He also clarified he has had no conversations with the Denver Nuggets, his former team, following their recent front office shakeup.
Karnišovas, who was hired in 2020, has overseen just one playoff appearance in five seasons. Chicago hasn’t advanced past the first round since 2015, and the franchise has endured seven losing seasons in the last decade.
Still, Karnišovas believes in the path the team has taken.
“I do believe in the way we wanted to build this roster,” he said. “Having players that have experience to kind of shrink the timeline and continuously look for other ways to improve your roster. [Coach Billy Donovan] has emphasized how important it is for this young group to focus on winning and what goes into winning instead of just rolling the ball out and telling them to go and develop. That’s the path we chose.”
With another lottery pick on the horizon and several rotation decisions to make this summer, Karnišovas’ plan will face more scrutiny than ever. Whether the Bulls can break free from mediocrity remains to be seen — and fans will be watching closely.
