Michael Reinsdorf made it very clear over the last few months that the decisions he makes with the front office restructure have to be done with patience, but also with the casting of a wide net.
The Bulls chief operating officer continued to tackle it with that approach, knowing the next few weeks could define his legacy since coming into power over the last three seasons.
According to a source, while Denver general manager Arturas Karnisovas lived up to the hype in his Wednesday interview, completely impressing the son of board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, the younger Reinsdorf is looking to start putting pieces in place, but he’s also going to continue doing his due diligence in the process.
That’s why after interviewing Utah executive Justin Zanik on Monday, Reinsdorf has also interviewed former 76ers president Bryan Colangelo, former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry, Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, and according to the source, several others that are staying under the radar for the time being.
What’s important to also note, not all of these interviews have been for the same position, and not all of them were true interviews.
There were several names on the list that Reinsdorf simply wanted to check in with, gather some information from, and have a good feel for just in case.
The Sun-Times has reported all along that this restructure has never been about one hire or one direction. There are organizational models that Reinsdorf has been doing his homework on and has been impressed with, but like many franchises around the league, front office structures are fluid.
As for the early leader out of the gate for at least one key position, Karnisovas is scheduled to meet electronically with Reinsdorf again this week, and if all goes well the first block of this restructure could be in place by next week.
The source said that Zanik was also impressive, and with a strong background in player relationships and the NBA cap rules, maybe there’s a scenario where Reinsdorf is looking to hire several executives, handing out like titles to manage different departments.
Michael Reinsdorf’s vision has never been to just replace a John Paxson as the vice president of basketball operations or just throw a new GM in Gar Forman’s office. It’s been about expanding the front office to have more specialization, including depth in player development, scouting, analytics, and salary cap decisions.
This is what the NBA has grown into the last three years, and the most successful franchises have adapted to that.
The Bulls have historically had the smallest front office, with the likes of Paxson and Forman wearing multiple hats.
With a rebuild that has stalled in Year 3, the massive overhaul was long overdue.
