Rejoice, Chicago Bulls fans, the reign of mediocrity is over! Since 2003, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson has been the main decision-maker for the Bulls. In 2009, he promoted Gar Forman to general manager. Since then, the Bulls front office has regularly whiffed on draft picks and failed to bring in enough talent to seriously compete. Paxson, replaced as VP by former Denver Nuggets executive Arturas Karnisovas, will remain with the team as an adviser. Forman is out entirely. If nothing else, Bulls fans should save on billboard rentals this year.
Bulls Front Office Struggles Since ‘03
Paxson had been known mostly to Bulls fans as the hero of Game Six in the 1993 NBA Finals. He joined the Bulls front office in 2003. Since then, Chicago has managed just one conference finals appearance. For a fan base that won six NBA titles in the 1990s, it has been a hard pill to swallow.
It is difficult to identify the exact moment things went so wrong for this regime in Chicago. That said, the writing was on the wall in the first offseason. Paxson, already tasked with walking out of the commentary booth and into the shoes of legendary general manager Jerry Krause, lost rising star Jay Williams to a freak motorcycle accident. The injuries Williams sustained in the accident eventually proved to be career-ending.
Bulls Front Office Woes Continue
Then, the 2006 NBA Draft gifted the Bulls a superstar level player: LaMarcus Aldridge. Paxson, at this point still acting general manager, traded Aldridge to the Portland Trail Blazers that night. His return? Middling forward Tyrus Thomas and certified “Who?” Viktor Khryapa. Unfortunately for Bulls fans, this was not the end of first round whiffs under Paxson.
After getting Derrick Rose in the 2008 draft, Paxson officially moved to Executive VP, making room for Forman as general manager. Things seemed to be turning around for the Bulls as their talent began to pile up. Joakim Noah, Rose, Taj Gibson, and Jimmy Butler created a talented core that seemed poised to compete for a long time. Rose tore his ACL in the 2012 NBA playoffs. This was just the most severe of many injuries that held back his career. Then, because of issues with then-coach Tom Thibodeau, Butler forced his way out of town. All of a sudden, Chicago was rebuilding again.
One More for the Road
The second back-breaking draft-day trade came in 2014. The Bulls, in desperate need of talent, had two first-round picks. It was an opportunity to try to turn things around quickly. The decision by the Bulls front office was to turn picks 16 and 19 into pick 11 in a trade with the Denver Nuggets. The player they got at 11 was Creighton scorer Doug McDermott. Meanwhile, Denver turned those picks into guard Gary Harris and forward Jusuf Nurkic, who have both developed into solid starters. The Nuggets front office executive who pulled off that heist? Karnisovas.
New Faces, New Places, More Questions
Karnisovas taking over the Bulls front office should have fans excited. He oversaw the Nuggets amassing one of the most talented top to bottom rosters in the league. The fact that Paxson remains in the building might be troubling to some Bulls fans, but at least Forman is gone.
This does not signal an end to the suffering of fans waiting endlessly for a return to the championship form of the 1990s, but it looks like a big step in the right direction. There are still many questions facing this new regime. Can Karnisovas continue to identify talent as well as he did in Denver with Chicago’s notoriously weak scouting efforts? Will owner Jerry Reinsdorf pay the talent if he does? Can they find a coach who belongs in the NBA and doesn’t alienate his locker room? Is Lauri Markkanen someone they can build around?
This will all become clear as the new Bulls front office moves forward. The first, and perhaps one of the most important decisions, will be the general manager Karnisovas chooses to work alongside. For now, Bulls fans can relish in the fact that GarPax is finally gone. Oh, and that the guy who replaced him, unlike some other candidates, wears normal collars.
Get more great content at Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports. Follow the me on Twitter to get notified when I post new articles.
