It’s important to note that almost everybody around the NBA applauded the Chicago Bulls for hiring Arturas Karnisovas as their new VP of Basketball Operations. He’s widely respected and deserves to run his own team. Some even feel he’s too good for an organization like the Bulls given their questionable history. Just ask about the Marc Eversley hire as GM to get an idea.
Diversity has always been a question mark that follows Chicago. Their first and only black head coach was Bill Cartwright. He lasted less than two full seasons. B.J. Armstrong made it to assistant GM in the front office but was passed over for John Paxson as top exec of the franchise. This despite Paxson having no prior front office experience. Seeing stuff like that, it’s little wonder some around the league cocked an eyebrow when Eversley was hired.
Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic spoke to a number of executives. Their reactions to the Eversley hire were interesting. While thrilled for the man himself, they also questioned how much influence he would have.
“I could just see people saying they hired him because they needed a Black face,” said one high-ranking African American team executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Another had a slightly different gripe about the move.
“With all due respect, I am delighted that Marc Eversley is the GM of the Bulls,” the league executive said. “But why wasn’t Marc Eversley interviewed to be the president of basketball operations? Why was there no one of color interviewed for that position? You mean to tell me that there was nobody in the mind of the leadership of the Bulls qualified to take on that job as president? Or was it just that they don’t know anybody?
Marc Eversley was qualified and is eager to prove it
COO Michael Reinsdorf defended his hiring process that led to Karnisovas. Many criticized the Bulls for not talking to any minority candidates. He stated he’d aimed to do so but the two he had in mind fell through. One declined to interview and the team wasn’t allowed to speak with the other. Neither of their names are known, but does that excuse them from not at least talking to Eversley about the top job?
The new GM doesn’t seem perturbed by it. He’s honored to be the first black man to hold that job in team history and intends to represent it well. It’s a dream position for him, having grown up a big fan of the Bulls back in the 1990s. He has worked hard to get where he is. The man played a big role is finally getting the Philadelphia 76ers back into playoff shape after years of basement-dwelling.
Being the first black GM isn’t the piece of history he has his eye on. He wants to be one of the men who help the Bulls raise that seventh championship banner.
