Chicago Bulls: 3 biggest draft mistakes by Arturas Karnisovas

Newly hired Chicago Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has a strong draft resume. But not all of his picks were wins.

There’s very few teams in the Western Conference that did a more impressive job drafting and developing talent at a value price in the last six or eight years than the Denver Nuggets. Making a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals to round out last season, the Nuggets rode their core of superstar big man Nikola Jokic and standout guard Jamal Murray to new heights. And the force that built up a lot of that core for the Nuggets is their former general manager, and the Chicago Bulls recently hired executive vice president of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas.

As one of the better general managers around the NBA heading into the Bulls portion of the 2020 offseason, Karnisovas was a solid find for their front office. He proved his worth in a big way in assembling one of the deeper rosters in the entire NBA in the Mile High City.

Back in spring, the Bulls ownership/management decided to part ways with former general manager Gar Forman and demote former VP of basketball operations John Paxson. Karnisovas replaced Paxson as the lead voice in the front office and Marc Eversley replaced Forman as the general manager.

Karnisovas looks to be an excellent hire by the Bulls, at least as it stands now. But he’s facing a really big test later this month when the 2020 NBA Draft arrives. Draft night is set to take place on Nov. 18, and the Bulls hold the fourth overall pick in the lottery. What past experience can Bulls fan draw off of from Karnisovas to see what positives and negatives can emerge on draft night?

Here’s a look at the potential negatives for Karnisovas, viewing three of the biggest draft mistakes he made during his time with the Nuggets front office.