Advice for Bulls: Don’t overcomplicate the executive search
Back in 2003 when Jerry Krause was encouraged to put his scouting notebook in the drawer, Jerry Reinsdorf took a look around and decided John Paxson was the smartest person in the room.
That decision worked very well, for the most part. Within two years the Bulls had gone from sputtering rebuild to a top-four playoff seed. In 2007 they won a playoff series.
At the time Paxson was the Bulls radio analyst, and his basketball operations resume consisted of one unhappy season as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson.
Sometimes it can be that simple. Find a smart person who will make solid decisions.
Less fondly remembered is a similar move with the White Sox when Reinsdorf put Hawk Harrelson in charge, but that's beside the point.
When the Bulls sought to replace Paxson and Gar Forman in 2020, Michael Reinsdorf put together a list of promising NBA executives — some of whom dropped out of consideration — and he landed on Arturas Karnisovas from Denver. Now the job is open again since the Bulls went nowhere.
Two things matter most when it comes to building a successful NBA team: No. 1, it's always better to be lucky than good. Paxson's best years happened after the Bulls won the draft lottery and took Derrick Rose with the top pick.
No. 2, a team can hire good coaches, send scouts across the globe, load up the player development staff. Success usually boils down to one person making one decision — picking the right player on draft night.
Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley botched this task right out of the gate. Remember when barely anyone had heard of Florida State freshman Patrick Williams until two days before the 2020 draft, then suddenly he was the Bulls' pick at No. 4?
Granted, it was a relatively weak draft and the pandemic was going on. But surely the Bulls had scouted his games. An undersized power forward who lacks elite athleticism is absolutely the type of player that rarely succeeds in the NBA. On top of that, Williams had to endure high expectations he could never live up to.
Nobody gets them all right, but this was a horrendously bad call. The Bulls set out to hire the best basketball executive they could find, and that was the result.
So here's the advice to Michael Reinsdorf: Do not overcomplicate this.
Reinsdorf already seems to be treading in a dangerous direction by reciting a long list of qualities the Bulls are seeking in their next head of basketball operations. Again, find someone who will make a smart decision on draft night and the rest will take care of itself.
The list of interested candidates may be limited due to two stipulations Reinsdorf put on the job — must be willing to keep Billy Donovan as head coach, and tanking is not an option.
As mentioned here many times before, tanking is not necessary to build a winner. Most recent NBA champions did not build their roster by tanking. It might seem like a popular trend since it's worked for San Antonio and Detroit. But last year's NBA Finals saw just four top-10 picks in the playing rotations (Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin).
If a candidate tells the Bulls search committee they can't win if they don't tank, then pass. That's just a lazy attitude. There are great players all over the NBA draft. One-and-done college players and better internationals have evened the playing field.
If the Bulls are sold on keeping Donovan as coach, then ask him to help find the new lead executive. That sort of arrangement saw success in Miami with Pat Riley, and Donovan spent five years working for Reinsdorf's favorite NBA exec, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti. Surely, Donovan knows some smart people to recommend.
And maybe don't worry so much about experience. Paxson had none. Presti was 29 when first hired to lead the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007. There's no proven path to finding the best executive, and let's face it, winning the draft lottery will make anyone look smart.
To be fair, Karnisovas and Eversley had some successes with the Bulls. Signing Alex Caruso, then turning him into Josh Giddey were two. The best draft picks were guys who fell further than they should have, mainly Matas Buzelis and Ayo Dosunmu.
The failures are a longer list. Overpaid to acquire Nikola Vucevic; gave Zach LaVine a max contract; exacerbated the Williams draft pick by giving him an immovable contract. There are plenty more.
Some problems made little sense. The Bulls hired local native Peter Patton to improve the player development program, then parted ways two years later. At the end of last season, Karnisovas told reporters the Bulls are on the right track. Then on draft night, Eversley talked about the long, slow process ahead.
Just remember this as the Bulls launch their search: There are no correct answers until draft night arrives.