Chicago Bulls: Are front office changes turning into a dud?

The recent front office shifts for the Chicago Bulls aren’t really setting off the chain reaction of other changes in this franchise that were anticipated.

Before the 2020 offseason could really get underway, it appears that ownership could be undermining any of the excitement from the front offices changes for the Chicago Bulls from back in the spring. This doesn’t seem too unusual for the Reinsdorfs, since frustrating ownership control over decisions that should be obvious but somehow aren’t go back to the 1990’s.

Earlier this offseason, it looked like there could be some hope instilled in the future of this rebuild heading into its fourth year with the much needed front office personnel changes. But none of the changes that were expected to come in a chain reaction after the new front office hired were brought in have happened since. Quite the opposite actually.

Things have remained way too stable throughout the rest of the Bulls organization since the front office shift first occurred. The coaching staff was anticipated to be the first change that occurred after the new lead voices in the front office were brought aboard. But the former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas and Philadelphia 76ers executive Marc Eversley have done nothing of the sort.

Karnisovas is the one taking over for John Paxson as the overall lead voice in the front office. His title will officially be executive VP of basketball operations. And Eversley is taking over for Gar Forman as the next general manager.

It does appears that Karnisovas and Eversley might be even more feeble in their decision making this offseason than Bulls fans thought even a couple of weeks ago. According to a recent episode of the Bulls Talk podcast from NBC Sports Chicago, the Bulls could wind up standing pat for for really any shifts that could’ve occurred for the coaching staff or the 15-man roster.

Keeping a roster in-tact that was part of a collapsing rebuild during its third year, prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced season hiatus, is one thing. But keeping around a head coach in Jim Boylen that has a combined record since taking over as the interim during the 2018-19 season of 39-84 is something more significant.

Boylen is fairly widely considered the worst head coach in the NBA at this point in time. And the fact that the Bulls are still keeping him around has to leave most fans wondering what exactly is going on with this new front office regime?

The answer is likely that the ownership group is doing the same thing that they usually do. Boylen is the cheaper and easier option right now, and there’s not a great chance that the Bulls leap into contention next season as is.

The cheap and easy option is usually the way that Jerry Reinsdorf likes to go with his personnel decisions for this Bulls organization. That doesn’t seem to be a path he is straying from now, especially if it doesn’t mean hurting his pocketbook.

With that in mind, it does in fact appear that any of the front office changes made at least this offseason are going to be a big dud in terms of other significant changes within this organization. Bringing Karnisovas and Eversley into the mix might make a positive change down the road, but likely not right away.

The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 22-43. They did not even have a good enough record to join the 22-team NBA restart, with games starting on July 30 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.