The Chicago Bulls badly flubbed their last attempt to hire a competent VP of Basketball Operations when they brought in Arturas Karnisovas. Team owner Michael Reinsdorf admitted the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic made a more thorough process difficult. This time, he’s hoping to cover all his bases. That means doing plenty of work himself, but this time he wants some added assistance. That is why he revealed the plan was to hire a search firm to help with the process of finding the right guy.
No details were shared beyond that. Well, we finally got an update. Marc Stein of The Stein Line revealed that the Bulls have found the firm they wish to work with.
The early word out of Chicago, lastly, is that the Bulls not only want to keep Billy Donovan in place as their coach but also that Donovan is likely to have a strong voice in the Bulls’ search for a new lead executive to run their front office.
I learned this week that the Bulls have selected TurnkeyZRG as the search firm to navigate their executive hiring process.
Experts rate TurnkeyZRG as the third-best in the country, earning high marks for their sports-focused approach. Their biggest successes have been in the college ranks, helping Michigan hire Dusty May and Indiana hire Curt Cignetti. Both just won national championships. As far as the NBA is concerned, their work is more mixed. They’re confirmed to have helped two notable executives get hired in the past decade.
| Category | Notable Hires / Placements | Key Roles |
|---|---|---|
| NBA | Trajan Langdon (Pistons), Travis Schlenk (Hawks) | President of Basketball Ops, General Manager |
| NFL | Terry Fontenot, Arthur Smith (Falcons) | General Manager, Head Coach |
| Soccer (MLS/USSF) | JT Batson (US Soccer), Ignacio Garcia (MLS), placements for Charlotte FC & St. Louis City SC | CEO, SVP & Executive Producer, Club Front Office Build-outs |
| NHL | Front office build-out for Seattle Kraken | Hockey Operations & Business Staff |
| College Coaching | Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Dusty May (Michigan), Todd Golden (Florida), Curt Cignetti (Indiana) | Head Football & Basketball Coaches |
The Chicago Bulls are taking a calculated risk.
Langdon has received plenty of praise for his work with Detroit over the past two years. He filled out the roster with complementary talent to finally help Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. Such names include Tobias Harris, Duncan Robinson, and Kevin Huerter. However, his best move was finally finding the right head coach, bringing in J.B. Bickerstaff from his successful run in Cleveland. Schlenk on the other hand holds a mixed reputation. He is credited with drafting Trae Young in 2018, the late-blooming Onyeka Okongwu in 2020, and Jalen Johnson in 2021. His Atlanta Hawks went to the Eastern Conference Finals that year. Unfortunately, they regressed after that, leading to Schlenk’s dismissal.
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So while Turnkey can say they’ve had plenty of success at the coaching level, their executive work is a little more mercurial. Chicago didn’t make a bad choice as far as firm reputation, but they’re taking a clear risk regarding their area of expertise. One thing that is clear is the firm doesn’t seem to favor an agency or a specific team when putting forth candidates. Langdon was a former player who came up with the Spurs as a scout before earning personnel jobs with the Nets and Pelicans. Schlenk started as a video coordinator, became a scout, and eventually climbed the ranks in Golden State during their dynasty run.
Turnkey will be helpful provided the Bulls stick to their vision.
Reinsdorf stated his specific objectives for the next VP: a good communicator, process-oriented, and someone with genuine conviction. These were problems he noticed with Karnisovas over the past six years. The former VP did not handle the media well, didn’t follow the process in some of his major roster decisions (like Patrick Williams), and never had a personality that showed conviction in his moves. Another requirement is someone with forwardthinking. The Bulls don’t want to keep being a team constantly behind on new NBA trends.
If ownership sticks to these requirements and communicates them to Turnkey, the firm should be able to put its resources to good use in finding executives who fit the description. Perhaps they will point towards someone with previous experience like Bob Myers, or see if they can find an unsung name who has been ready for his shot for years. One thing we do know is that this search must be conducted quickly. Free agency and the NBA draft are approaching. The Chicago Bulls must have their man in place before all of that begins.
