There were plenty of reasons why Arturas Karnisovas was fired as VP of Basketball Operations by the Chicago Bulls. Much of it goes back to his franchise-altering decision to draft Patrick Williams 4th overall in 2020. Every mistake from there was magnified by how bad that pick became. However, most reports agree that the 2026 NBA trade deadline was the breaking point for ownership. They gave away three productive players, Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic, in exchange for Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton, Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, Guerschon Yabusele, and Nick Richards. That included nine 2nd round picks but no 1st rounders.
None of the players brought back in those trades offered any real hope for the future. Ivey was a disaster from the start, drawing controversy for his religious rhetoric, which led to his ouster. Karnisovas couldn’t hide from that colossal blunder and paid for it with his job. Yet somehow it gets even worse. Apparently, the former Bulls VP passed on another opportunity to accumulate draft capital. Adam Aaronson of Philly Voice had the story.
In the end, the Sixers’ attempts to backfill McCain’s roster spot with a rotation-caliber piece were fruitless, but they did take place. A source with knowledge of the team’s strategy entering the deadline indicated the focus was on adding cost-effective role players with multiple years of control.
The Sixers, the source said, offered the Chicago Bulls multiple second-round picks for reserve big man Jalen Smith; Chicago held onto him. Their primary target, PhillyVoice learned, was Aaron Wiggins, one of Oklahoma City’s many trusted reserves.
Leave it to Arturas Karnisovas.
He makes multiple trades that don’t make any sense at the deadline and passes on a trade that would’ve made plenty of sense. Jalen Smith was logging around 20 minutes a night for the Bulls, averaging 10 points and six rebounds. He was doing nothing for their bottom line. Next season will be the last of his current contract. Chicago could’ve secured more draft capital to help their upcoming rebuild rather than hang onto a backup center who was never going to be part of their championship blueprint.
It’s hard to imagine Arturas Karnisovas could’ve bombed his stint in Chicago any harder. Bulls ownership gave him so many opportunities to change course over the past six years. He should have done so after Lonzo Ball injured his knee. Instead, he stubbornly stayed the course, believing a few minor tweaks might unlock something. Every time the opportunity for a big trade came along, he kept passing. The man’s sense for team building is probably the worst the Bulls’ front office has seen.
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This is a great reminder that nobody knows anything.
Let’s not forget that many “experts” around the NBA thought Arturas Karnisovas was a strong hire by the Bulls. He was a former player with deep overseas connections who played a big role in building the Denver Nuggets’ roster that eventually won the 2023 championship. There were minimal warning signs. Yet even so, he still turned out to be a disaster. This should be a stark reminder that you can’t predict this stuff. Even when teams go through the process the right way, they can still end up with the wrong person for the job.
Bob Myers was a sports agent for 15 years, never scouting a player or working in a front office once in his life. Yet that didn’t stop him from building the league’s most recent dynasty. That is why it is not wise to judge the Bryson Graham hire by the Bulls. People can sing his praises all day. The fact is, we have no idea how he’ll respond once live bullets start firing. All we can do is say it will be truly difficult to do a worse job than Karnisovas.
