Arturas Karnisovas' Bulls Vision: Try to Win Every Game

Arturas Karnisovas and Billy Donovan participated in a Wednesday radio interview on WSCR's "Mully And Haugh" morning radio program that ran the gamut of all the topics a Chicago Bulls fan should expect heading into the 2024-25 NBA regular season: Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, the youth movement, and Josh Giddey.

Of all the topics discussed in the show, the subject of player development served as the most illuminating talking point on the general direction Karnisovas is steering the Bulls toward this upcoming campaign.

"We're going to try to win every game," Karnisovas said in the context of the top-10 protected first-round draft pick the Bulls owe the San Antonio Spurs, courtesy of the sign-and-trade transaction that brought DeMar DeRozan to Chicago in the summer of 2021.

For good measure, Donovan provided a chorus to Karnisovas' vision for the 2024-25 Bulls in his comments. "We're going into every game trying to win," the head coach said regarding the topic of player development for youngsters.

At best, the direction Karnisovas is charting for the Bulls' 2024-25 season is confusing. At worst, Karnisovas is willfully myopic about the competitive dynamics of his roster relative to his peer NBA franchises.

As mentioned in the Bulls On Tap 2024-25 season preview , the team under Karnisovas' leadership has posted a 156-162 record with one playoff series appearance in 2022. The roster core assembled by Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley in the summer of 2021 gave a valiant and mostly mediocre effort at becoming a winning basketball team.

The opportunity for the Bulls to win games has run its course and Karnisovas should be furiously building a new-generation roster that gives the franchise a renewed opportunity to return to relevant, winning status in the NBA.

Instead, it's now apparent the supposed youth movement transformation that shook up the Bulls roster in the summer of 2024 is less about emphasizing player development for long-term success and more about building the best possible roster for short-term wins.  Karnisovas' short-sighted vision for the Bulls may get him the wins he wants, but at what cost? Is Matas Buzelis's player development worth that cost?

A rational executive vice president of basketball operations with a sound vision for their NBA franchise's future should say no to scoring short-term wins at the expense of maximizing roster talent. Look no further than 2024 Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks . The Mavericks organization has leadership with a vision for winning. The Chicago Bulls have Arturas Karnisovas.

Related: Chicago Bulls 2024-25 Season Preview: 5 Storylines to Follow

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