Bulls’ Arturas Karnisovas finally makes ‘change’ promise after Heat play-in debacle

The Chicago Bulls had another disappointing season, going out in the NBA Play-In Tournament with a loss to the Miami Heat, and executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas did not hold back on what he and the organization has to do to get things right, promising changes.

“I’ve said numerous times today: This group, something doesn’t work,” Arturas Karnisovas said, via KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked. Everything is on the table. … I am going to look at totality of the group. This group hasn’t worked. There’s a lot of great things in certain individual players and a lot of young guys who took a step forward and it’s positive. But in totality as a group, it didn’t work. So I’m going to have to find these answers in offseason.”

This is very notable coming from Karnisovas, as the Bulls have been hesitant to make significant changes to the roster in recent years. The organization has not traded a player since 2021, and has passed on opportunities to send players like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and others elsewhere in exchange for assets that could have been useful for a team that was seemingly in limbo between contending and rebuilding.

The Bulls’ core of players got off to a hot start, and Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan were the headliners. But other players like Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and Nikola Vucevic were important as well. However, Lonzo Ball’s injury has impacted the team as well, and the team has not performed as well since getting off to a very hot start as a unit early on in the 2021-2022 season.

Who will the Bulls retain?

It seems as if Karnisovas plans on making changes with the Bulls this offseason, but he did say that there is mutual interest in finding a long-term deal with DeRozan.

“DeMar’s been great for us for three years,” Karnisovas said, via Johnson. “He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. So both sides are interested in continuing and we’ll see what happens in free agency.”

At the very least, it seems as if the Bulls have interest in keeping DeRozan for the long haul, and view him as a good piece. It remains to be seen whether or not players like LaVine, Caruso and others will be back for the 2024-2025 season.

Regardless, the Bulls fanbase is likely staved for changes as well and would like to aim higher than an appearance in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Karnisovas made it clear that he knows changes need to be made to reach new heights.