It didn’t take long for Arturas Karnisovas to make a decision on whether or not Gar Forman would see a 23rd season with the Bulls organization.
The franchise’s new executive vice president of basketball operations said on Monday that he weighed keeping Forman on in some capacity, but it become quite clear that “different philosophies’’ was immediately a breaking point.
And just like that the slow rise of the controversial Forman into the general manager position had reached its fall with the team announcing he was fired with two years left on his current contract.
“Regarding Gar, I think after some consideration and conversation it was apparent we had different philosophies,’’ Karnisovas said. “That would prevent us from moving forward.
“I was hired to effect change in the current situation, so that was the decision behind that.’’
Music to the ears of many. Not only Bulls fans and former players that had grown distrustful of Forman and his regime, but even members of his own organization that had to deal with Forman’s paranoia throughout the years.
The Sun-Times was the first to report of Forman employing “spies’’ in key positions throughout the organization, using them to keep an eye on behaviors he deemed negative toward his office. He also had a history of confiscating phones and computers of employees, on top of the growing distain many former and current players had with Forman, especially in the trust department.
Back in November, the newspaper reported that Forman had even worn out his welcome with board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf after aloof behavior on a night in which the organization was honoring Luol Deng, all but signifying the end was near for the long-time executive.
Stripped of his GM powers over the last few seasons, Karnisovas did have the option of keeping Forman around as a scout, but opted to move on. Not the only significant Karnisovas has made just four days on the job, either.
In speaking with the media since agreeing in principle to the new post on Thursday, the former Denver GM said that he was all for repositioning former VP of basketball operations John Paxson to an advisory role, but was still weighing the future of current coach Jim Boylen and the staff.
“John has a great reputation around the league and has been with the organization for a number of years, and can be an asset of information,’’ Karnisovas said of the Paxson decision.
The Boylen decision, however, is a bit trickier.
First, Boylen and Karnisovas have had conversations already, but the executive is still going down the list of contacting players on the current roster, as well as gathering feedback from other departments. The league-wide shut down in the wake of the coronavirus has made this type of fact gathering the new norm, rather than simply walking in the training facility and grabbing players off the court.
Complicating Boylen’s future was a strange press release in which Boylen welcomed Karnisovas to his post.
“I want to welcome Arturas to the Chicago Bulls,’’ Boylen said in the release. “He has a wealth of experience as a player and executive, and a strong reputation within the basketball community. I commend Jerry and Michael [Reinsdorf] for bringing Arturas on board.
“I am thankful for the support that John and Gar provided me and my staff when I became our head coach. Their commitment and belief in our team played a key role in helping me establish a foundation for how I wanted to coach our team.’’
How should that be received by Boylen’s critics? Don’t read anything into it either way.
“No, for now we’re going to be evaluating, communicating, and see how I can help them,’’ Karnisovas said when asked about a timeframe for a Boylen decision to go down.
However, the Sun-Times did report last week that according to a source, Boylen does feel like he will return.
