It's taken what feels like an eternity for the Chicago Bulls to figure out its future plans. After going all in, acquiring Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso in 2021 in a matter of months, the Bulls have seemingly halted all transactions intent on improving.
Since acquiring a slew of players to go from 31 wins in 2020-21 to 46 in 2021-22, Chicago has seen fewer victories in recent seasons. The Bulls won 40 games in 2022-23, 39 in 2023-24, and are on pace to win 32 games this year—although that number appears a bit high amid a six-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, despite attaining fewer victories in subsequent seasons, the Bulls inexplicably held onto veterans Vucevic, DeRozan, Ball, Caruso, and Zach LaVine. This comes after the Bulls fielded numerous trade offers for the previously mentioned players yet continued to hold onto them in hopes of competing for…the play-in. While the Bulls eventually traded three of the veterans, the returns were minimal. Chicago has time and time again, held onto tradable assets for far longer than expected.
CBS Sports ranked Chicago's Front Office 30th in the NBA
The Bulls' roster mismanagement isn't the front office's only fault. Chicago has made irrational decisions in the draft, ineptly decided to retain underperforming talent, and failed to acquire assets in recent seasons. Thus, in a recent ranking of all 30 NBA Front Offices, CBS Sports ranked the Bulls dead last.
The Arturas Karnisovas-led Front Office ranked in CBS' Sam Quinn's "Tier 11: I can't defend what you're doing." Ahead of the Bulls, in the same tier, are the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. Dallas is included solely because of the botched Luka Doncic trade. The Suns, because of overspending and their complete neglect of youth and the NBA Draft. Finally, Sacramento is included after years of head-scratching moves.
Chicago is almost in a tier of their own. Quinn's blurb began with, "The Kings aspire to 46 or 47 wins. The Bulls seemingly aspire to 36 or 37." While the sentiment is almost unbelievable, it's unequivocally true. NBA teams are expected to compete for an NBA Championship, that's the goal. Nonetheless, Chicago had made it clear that 40 wins or reaching the play-in tournament is an accomplishment.
CBS Sports then recounted the Bulls' Front Office's decision-making with five painstakingly honest bullet points. Firstly, Chicago has not won a playoff series under Karnisovas. Furthermore, the lack of success won't be changing anytime soon. After trading LaVine, the Bulls' future direction is understood.
Second, CBS's Quinn pointed out Karnisovas's recent press conference where he preposterously alluded that a team can win with nine to 10 very good players instead of two to three superstars. Karnisovas's theory is certainly an odd one that typically doesn't equate to winning—as evidenced by the NBA's recent champions.
Next, the Bulls' prior trades and re-signings were ridiculed. The decision to trade Caruso for Josh Giddey is looking decent now, but it was surely a boneheaded move when it was made. Caruso had just made an All-NBA Defensive team, while Giddey was benched in the Oklahoma City Thunder's recent playoff run. Then, of course, Patrick Williams' bloated contract was mentioned. Despite underachieving and stagnation, Chicago re-upped Williams for five years and $90 million.
Finally, the Bulls' lack of spending was noted. Although Chicago operates in the NBA's third-largest market, they've paid the luxury tax only twice. The Bulls operate as if they cannot lure players nor spend exorbitantly—both untrue.
In conclusion, although Chicago has consistently flown under the radar as a mediocre team, the front office's failures are well-acknowledged. It's telling if the Bulls' Front Office is ranked below the Mavericks' following a near-mutiny following the Doncic trade. Chicago's lack of direction and inability to acquire assets is unsatisfactory.