The Chicago Bulls went through the process, conducted their interviews, and eventually reached the point where they had to make a decision. Michael Reinsdorf didn’t have it easy. Every candidate for the team’s VP of Basketball Operations position was impressive. All interviewed well. All had strong backgrounds. However, Bryson Graham stood out for both his eye for talent and his clear plan to modernize the Bulls’ front office. A crucial first step in that effort for him and Reinsdorf? Find a way to convince Dave Lewin to come on board.
In 2012, he was hired by the Boston Celtics as their scouting coordinator. Just one year later, Lewin was promoted to General Manager of Basketball Operations. By 2023, he’d risen to assistant general manager, a position he’s held ever since. His fingerprints are all over the 2024 championship team. There is no question he’s a rising star in the NBA. So why are the Bulls so desperate to get him? According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, it is because he can help the organization finally embrace the modern side of scouting with analytics.
A person who could help Graham and that process along? Well, the Bulls already interviewed him as well. While Boston Celtics assistant GM Dave Lewin did not get the Bulls’ EVP job, that doesn’t mean the Bulls are done pursuing him. There will be a push to get him in the front office, and if not him, “we need to find someone very much like Dave Lewin.”
That’s how impressive his presentation was from an analytics and strategy standpoint.
Luring Dave Lewin away will be difficult.
He’s been in Boston for over a decade. That is his home. Still, his chances of upward mobility are slowing. Brad Stevens isn’t going anywhere as the team’s top basketball executive. He’s only 49 years old and holds absolute power in that organization. If Lewin wants to get out from under his shadow, he may have to leave. Besides, it’s not like there is much else for him to accomplish. The Celtics won a championship two years ago. He played a central role in the construction of that roster. Now other teams are asking the question.
Can he build a contender elsewhere? Chicago would represent a major opportunity. He’d obviously receive a promotion, becoming Graham’s right-hand man and new general manager. That would give him far more sway in the organization than he had in Boston. Also, building an analytics department almost from scratch could be a fascinating challenge for him. If Dave Lewin can help Graham turn the Bulls back into an Eastern power, NBA teams will be lining up to hand him the keys.
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The overall objective is clear.
Chicago wants to upgrade their front office to something state-of-the-art. That means overhauling the analytics division. This is something the team has needed for a long time. Up until the end of the Gar/Pax era, the Bulls were as old-school as it gets on the operational side. It was two guys at the top and a small group of scouts. Karnisovas tried to bring things along further, but it seems his operation never reached the level of quality needed to address some of the major problems in the team’s scouting process.
Dave Lewin would change that. He’s seen how the best do it. He had a hand in building what the Celtics have become. The Bulls hope to bring him and that blueprint to Chicago. What isn’t known is how Boston will react. They probably won’t be happy about the idea of losing one of their top executives to an Eastern Conference rival. Much depends on how good the Bulls’ recruiting pitch is. If that falls through, expect them to pursue other big names in the analytics field as they prepare for the NBA draft.
