Bulls – Taking out the Trash

The Chicago Bulls organization finally realized they needed to overhaul their front office. The Bulls have not surpassed 27 wins in the past three seasons. I guess being left out of the bubble was the final straw to get this rebuild going and back into the playoffs.  

Bulls’ fans have been calling for the front office to shake things up for a long time. After the Bulls hired new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas in April 2020, he vowed to bring the Bulls back to relevancy. Shortly after, the Bulls finally decided to let go of longtime employee Gar Forman after 22 years, 11 of which were as GM. 

Getting rid of Foreman was Karnisovas’s first significant move. Fans and analysts have been calling for the Bulls to let go of Forman for years now. And, man, it was great to see the new sheriff was not afraid to let go of such a long time Bulls employee. 

The Bulls’ new GM pick was Marc Eversley. He previously worked for the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and most recently with the Philadelphia 76ers. He helped with the “Trust the Process” rebuild, which had Philly poised for its third straight 50 win season before the COVID shutdown. 

The Bulls were moving fast and furious with cleaning out the garbage, but there was one big decision left Should the Bulls keep head coach Jim Boylen? 

After a 39-84 record, the second worse in Bulls’ franchise history, the simple answer is yes, immediately. But Karnisovas and Bulls’ owners took a long four-month evaluate period before making a decision. Last week Jerry Reinsdorf stated that the Bulls might have to keep Boylen because of unknown financial gains or losses for the coming season. As a Bulls fan, this was hard to hear. But the Bulls made it official on Friday morning and fired Boylen for good. Now the search for the right head coach begins.

Some of the names being thrown around are Denver Assistant Coach Wes Unseld Jr., former Brookly Head Coach, Kenny Atkinson, Toronto Assistant Coach Adrian Griffin, Bucks Assistant Coach Darvin Ham, and 76ers Assistant Coach Ime Udoka. Most are excellent choices, and all have proven that they have done enough to earn a shot at a head coach position. One name that I will throw into the ring is Mark Jackson, even though I do not think he will ever leave the booth. 

Jackson would be a perfect fit for this team. He was able to bring the Golden State Warriors back to relevancy before getting into some riffs with management. Jackson helped develop what would become the monsters of the west, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and he got the Warriors a better record for every year he was there. Jackson is one of the best analysts in the league and gets paid for it. But this team’s core roster is set up for a coach specializing in the development of players’ skills. I do not think Jackson would consider taking the job, but it would be great if he did. 

From the list of rumored candidates, Unseld and Griffin would be at the top of my list. Unseld was in Denver, so he and Karnisovas have history. Having the head coach and the front office on the same page always has its advantages. Griffin would be a great choice for two reasons. The first being that he coached under Nick Nurse, who might be the best head coach in the league. The second is that Griffin played for the Bulls; he has some familiarity with the franchise that the other candidates do not have. 

The Bulls are finally back on track with their recent moves for the organization but need to make sure they make the right choice at head coach to bring back a winning basketball team to the Windy City.