Chicago Bulls: Karnisovas has a ‘strong idea’ of who he wants to hire

Up next for the Chicago Bulls head coaching search could be Arturas Karnisovas at least narrowing his list of potential candidates to get the job.

Although this looks to be a patient process for the Chicago Bulls to find their next head coaching hire, there are murmurs leaking out that recently hired executive vice president of basketball operations (and former Denver Nuggets general manager) Arturas Karnisovas knows who he wants to get in the mix. The Bulls parted ways with now former head coach Jim Boylen back on Aug. 14, thus opening up one of multiple coaching searches actively going on around the NBA.

Karnisovas and former Philadelphia 76ers senior VP of player personnel (now the Bulls general manager) Marc Eversley look to have a decent list of candidates in mind to look into for the job. But there are a few names that are commonly mentioned in connection with the Bulls head coaching job. That list includes some of the following names: Sixers lead assistant Ime Udoka, Toronto Raptors assistant and former Bulls big man Adrian Griffin, Dallas Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas, and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

But apparently some other executives around the NBA feel that Karnisovas already has a “strong idea” of who he wants to hire as the Bulls next head coach to replace Boylen. In a recent episode of the “Bulls Talk Podcast”, Sports Illustrated NBA reporter/insider Chris Mannix joined up to talk about Chicago’s candidate search that is actively ongoing.

Here’s a bit of what Mannix had to say on the matter of Karnisovas and the Bulls head coaching search on this podcast released on Sep. 5.

"I’ve heard from a lot of executives that believe that Arturas (Karnisovas) has a strong idea of who he wants to hire and just is keeping a kind of under his hat for right now."

The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 22-43 before the pause put in place back in mid-March. Boylen led them to a record of 39-84 during his two seasons as their head coach. The lack of success in the win column and the weird antics are likely largely what led to the Bulls parting ways with Boylen earlier this offseason.

Chicago has one of multiple coaching searches going on around the NBA right now. The other openings include those of the Sixers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana Pacers. The Nets made the most recent NBA head coaching hire, with former superstar point guard and two-time MVP Steve Nash. Another head coaching position that was recently filled was that of the New York Knicks, with former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.