The Chicago Bulls are in a weird spot as a franchise. Arturas Karnisovas seems determined to run back the same core and push for the playoffs, but do they have the firepower needed to make that an effective strategy? Probably not. They would need to make some serious additions to the roster this summer.
That being said, during their post-NBA Draft press conference, Karnisovas and Marc Eversley spoke about ownership’s willingness to spend on talent. They made it clear that they are authorized to spend the money they need to in order to put a winning product on the floor. But Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation doesn’t buy it.
Despite the comments from the Bulls executives, Schuster stated that he won’t believe the team’s willingness to spend until he sees it for himself.
“I’ll believe it when I see it, folks,” Schuster wrote. “These are very similar words to the ones we heard Michael Reinsdorf speak to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson two seasons ago. He said if the team was competing for championships, the organization would “absolutely” dip into the tax. I can’t just help but think this is expert wordplay from both parties.”
On top of that, Schuster spoke about how backward Chicago’s logic has been when it’s come to their financial decision-making.
“You can’t be a truly competitive team without entering the tax in today’s NBA,” Schuster wrote. “And the Bulls say they will not enter the tax without being a truly competitive team. Make it make sense! At some point, if the goal is to win basketball games, the Bulls have to rip off the Band-Aid and jump into the water. I want to believe Karnisovas’ words that the organization is prepared to do that, but I simply can not when we consider the Bulls’ track record.”
Chicago needs to make big changes if they want to be competitive, and that involves spending money. They’ve walked the walk, but now it’s time to talk the talk (and spend some money).
