There is gold on this current Bulls roster.
The executive vice president of basketball operations is sure of that.
What Arturas Karnisovas is still sifting through, however, is it the kind of gold that he hopes to see plated all over a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy someday or is he headed into a chase down a dark endless mine only to discover that it is fool’s gold?
Not an easy assessment to necessarily make considering the chaos the organization has been under the last two seasons in the Jim Boylen Era.
So what do you do to see through the muck?
Hire what you believe to be hands-down the best head coaching candidate on the open market.
“I’m happy to announce the hiring of Billy Donovan as head coach of the Chicago Bulls,’’ Karnisovas said to the media in his Thursday Zoom call. “I could not stop smiling from the moment we agreed on a deal.’’
Still hasn’t from the looks of it.
And why not.
While the Bulls are a week into their mini-camp/bubble, intrasquad scrimmages just started on Wednesday. Karnisovas maintained that he feels like he inherited a talented roster, but he’s still evaluating them.
Early feedback? It’s a group that underachieved and badly needed an actual big-boy NBA head coach to lead them.
“When we sat down and we talked about the roster, I thought that this roster is [more] talented than what they showed the last two years,’’ Karnisovas said. “We have a lot — from picks to cap space in the future — to build this team. So on both sides, I think there was a lot of optimism.
“Looking at the roster, we spent a lot of time talking to Billy about offense, about defense, about the way he values relationships and how he rallies players around him and how he gets a buy-in from him. … So it was an easy decision to land on Billy.’’
One that happened quickly and aggressively.
According to Donovan, the day after he and Oklahoma City decided to mutually part ways after five seasons, he loaded up the car and made the 17-hour drive to be back with his family in Florida.
Karnisovas happened to get a tired Donovan on the phone, fresh off the long ride, and insisted that he wanted to meet with him that Friday.
Respectful of his Big East brethren, Donovan asked for a Monday visit instead, and the rest was more aggressive Karnisovas history.
“So he and Marc came in on Monday, and we probably shared five-and-a-half hours together in person, and I think all the things he said I really valued and were really important to me,’’ Donovan said. “The conversations we had just off the start was really important to me because I wanted be in a situation where everybody is rowing the boat in the same direction, everybody is pulling together, everybody is working for the same cause, there’s a lot of really good dialogue and communication, and I think as a coach you are a part of it. You’re a part of it all the way through from top to bottom, and I think Arturas was looking for that, looking to partner with somebody as a coach to try and continue to develop and build the program.’’
So when will the “partnership’’ officially start? Tricky, considering all the rules and regulations surrounding the coronavirus and this latest bubble.
Regardless, with no previous working relationship or dialogue with Donovan, Karnisovas showed that the new way of Bulls business is going after the best in the business – coach, front office staff, and eventually players.
“This is an opportunity for our organization to walk alongside a great coach who brings tremendous leadership to the table,’’ Karnisovas said. “And to build a foundation for a sustainable program that Bulls fans can be proud of.’’
Now, about that roster talent …
