When there was a need to be aggressive, Arturas Karnisovas has dropped the hammer.
Case in point, the way the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations instantly fired former general manager Gar Forman upon being hired, and his quick pursuit of Billy Donovan as soon as the coach hit the open market.
When Karnisovas has dealt with situations that called for him to be more deliberate, he’s operated like a chess player with no time limit on his next move. It took him months to evaluate and make a decision on former coach Jim Boylen, and he seems to be playing the slow game on what he exactly has with this roster he’s inherited.
Donovan explained that process, admitting that he and Karnisovas — along with GM Marc Eversley — speak frequently, but that doesn’t mean the bosses are sold on anything they’ve seen at this point.
“We obviously have dialogue after practices, after games and stuff,’’ Donovan said. “We really, to be honest with you, haven’t gotten into great details about each specific individual player. I mean I’m trying to help the team as best I can as a coach, and I’m sure Marc and Arturas are evaluating these games, evaluating the personnel, evaluating myself, evaluating everything, you know. I’m always open to discussion or dialogue, suggestions, and so I’ll frequently ask him, ‘Anything you’re seeing rotation-wise, anything we can make some changes to be better?’ You know he’s been great, but there’s been no direction as far as, ‘Hey you need to do this, you need to do that.’ I think he’s letting me coach the team and try and make the decisions that are best, but certainly I respect him and Marc, and everybody in the front office.
“We’re in it emotionally as coaches. I think from a front office standpoint, when they’re actually away from it and watching, sometimes they can give you good insight or though, but it’s not like I got a lot of dialogue about each individual player. It’s so early in the season, we want to see probably a lot more to be honest with you.’’
And a lot more from everyone.
There are no untouchables, no sure foundation pieces to build around.
Because of how easily this roster could be flipped over the next year, this is a complete evaluation from top to bottom.
Unfortunately for Coby White, he’s likely at the top of that list.
Point guards play a major role in Donovan’s offense, and he’s coached two elite ones with the Thunder, first with Russell Westbrook, and then Chris Paul. An almost impossible bar for White to reach, but one that Donovan hopes he strives for.
The big question mark remains White understanding when to get his points and when to make sure his teammates are getting theirs.
Donovan again reiterated on Wednesday that he was seeing improvement from White in that department, but also isn’t shy about using Tomas Satoransky at the point and kicking White over to the off guard in certain moments of the game, like he did in the win over the Wizards.
As for White, he can expect to continue to be badgered by the media when he talks, often asked to rate his latest outings and progress.
“I don’t feel like I’m in a fish bowl being evaluated, I’m just going out there to play,’’ White said. “They believe in me, so that’s all I can ask for. I’m just going out there to play each and every night, and trying my best to help my team win.’’
