What Chicago Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas had to say after his lack of activity at yet another NBA trade deadline sums up why his franchise is a complete dumpster fire.
The organization's lead on-court decision maker has made a 1-for-1 swap of Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey; let DeMar DeRozan go to Sacramento; and now made a deadline adjacent move to finally trade Zach LaVine.
In exchange for his team's star player, Karnisovas brought back veteran role players Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter, in addition to Chicago's own first-round pick that was owed to the San Antonio Spurs through 2028.
The Bulls signed veteran guard Lonzo Ball to a two-year, $20 million extension with a player option for the second year—just about the only shrewd move Karnisovas has made while in Chicago.
But he let another trade deadline pass without moving Nikola Vucevic. There was reported interest in guard Coby White, who would have brought back a larger return than anyone on the Bulls' roster. That deal never gained traction. Rival teams said Chicago had no interest in trading Ayo Dosunmu.
It was another missed opportunity in a reign full of missed opportunities for Karnisovas. But what he said during his post-trade deadline press conference may be the most absurd and embarrassing thing he's ever done or said since he took charge of the Bulls.
Bulls VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas is clearly delusional
Karnisovas had a few interesting things to say as he fielded questions from the media once the 2025 deadline had come and gone.
He admitted the Bulls are in a transition phase, but there's still more to come. That's been true since 2021. He wouldn't comment on what other offers he may have received for LaVine and whether they included additional draft capital.
Then he made two comments that, without question, explain why Chicago has become an irrelevant NBA franchise.
Karnisovas said "it's worth it" to him if this group he's assembled makes a run to the play-in tournament at the expense of a higher draft pick, per KC Johnson of CHSN.
Artūras Karnišovas on if young core leads them to play-in/playoffs at expense of lowering draft lottery odds: “That’s worth it to me.”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 6, 2025
Says young players learning to win is sign of growth/development.
On a related note, he actually hopes the Bulls do back into another No. 9 or 10 seed in the East and likely make a play-in tournament exit, all while dragging the first-round pick—the one he fought so hard to get back from the Spurs—outside of the top 10 with a lesser chance of landing a young player who could help bring Chicago back to relevance.
“The next 30 games will determine if we will be in Play-In and playoffs, this is something that is achievable and our guys are capable of getting there.” - AK
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) February 6, 2025
He really just said that.
Those comments are wild, illogical and plain incomprehensible. After three straight seasons of mediocrity—then after finally finding a taker for LaVine, as well as Caruso and DeRozan—Karnisovas still believes a play-in tournament berth is more valuable than a top draft pick in a loaded 2025 class.
The word "unbelievable" would fit here in most situations. But given his history with the Bulls, it's not unbelievable at all that Karnisovas would think this is the right path to take. It's just frustrating and disheartening that Bulls fans still have to deal with ultimate averageness because of a consistently inept decision-maker.