The Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey are still locked in a staring contest as the two sides try to reach a pact on a long-term contract extension, with recent reports linking the 22-year-old with the Golden State Warriors. Any trade has yet to gain traction, and likely won't, but the rumors have brought to light an interesting nugget: NBA front offices find the Bulls difficult to deal with, according to insider Jake Fischer via The Stein Line substack.
That shouldn't come as a surprise. The tandem of vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley makes Chicago one of the most difficult organizations to read. They've been stuck between overhauling and competing for the last handful of seasons, simultaneously failing at both.
It's interesting to hear that publicly, though. It explains a lot about the Bulls' lack of roster movement and skidding rebuild if the sentiment is shared so strongly in NBA circles.
Chicago Bulls front office can't seem to pick a direction
Karnisovas built a competitive roster around DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso heading into the 2021-22 season. That team briefly held the best record in the Eastern Conference but faded down the stretch after Ball injured his knee. He missed the next two seasons, and that group was never the same.
The following year, Chicago finished 40-42, good for 10th in the East. Running it back with the same core in 2023-24, the Bulls finished 39-42 and ninth in the East before bowing out in the Play-In Tournament with a loss to the Miami Heat. LaVine was injured for much of the campaign. It seemed clear to most that the group had run its course, yet Karnisovas held onto his quartet of top players.
That offseason, he finally called it a day on DeRozan's tenure in the Windy City but was forced to find a sign-and-trade deal that netted a whopping return of Chris Duarte and two second-round picks. LaVine's value had tanked to the point that the Bulls reportedly needed to attach a first-round selection to send him packing.
Eventually, Karnisovas found a deal that saw LaVine team up with DeRozan again, this time in Sacramento. But rather than build a return package around draft picks to jumpstart what, by all accounts, should have finally been a rebuild, he acquired career backups in Tre Jones and Zach Collins, along with a massively diminished Kevin Huerter.
Caruso was dealt straight up for Giddey, who came on at the end of last season and proved his importance to Chicago's new identity. He finally traded Ball to the Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro, who was surplus to requirements in Cleveland. Vucevic remains on the roster with talks of a potential buyout coming if the Bulls can't find a suitor for him by this year's trade deadline.
Compete or not compete: Bulls must make a decision
Chicago's front office has straddled the fence between competing and rebuilding for far too long. It's resulted in three straight play-in defeats and a wild amount of mediocrity.
Giddey was a bright spot for the Bulls last season and the engine that powered head coach Billy Donovan's up-tempo offense. Now, Karnisovas is locked in negotiations and refusing to budge for a 22-year-old who should play a significant role in the future of the franchise.
The front office desperately needs to pick a lane. If it's time to build another roster designed to make a playoff push, re-sign Giddey. There are reports of multiple teams being interested in acquiring the Bulls' (presumably) franchise point guard. Now isn't the time to be stubborn.