John Paxson held the top basketball job for the Chicago Bulls going back 17 years. At times it seemed like that would never change. However, after a brutal string of seasons that saw the franchise become an NBA laughing stock, the Reinsdorfs finally decided to make a change. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the organization is in the process of completing a deal with Denver Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to make him their next Vice President of Basketball Operations.
Karnisovas is one of the more respected talent evaluators in the league. A man known for his deep connections on the international level who was a key part of the Nuggets front office dating back to 2013. In that time he helped rebuild the team into a playoff contender, winning their first postseason series for the first time in over a decade in 2018-2019. Denver was ranked 3rd in the Western Conference at the time the league closed its doors due to the coronavirus.
Arturas Karnisovas puts an end to a long nightmare
Is Karnisovas the man who will lead the Bulls back to the promised land? That's hard to say until he gets to work. All fans care about at the moment is he ended up being the one who mercifully put an end to the "GarPax" era of Bulls basketball. One steeped in conflict, backroom politics, and terrible treatment of star players like Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.
What is know at this point is the 48-year old has been groomed for this moment. He has seven years of front office experience. The Nuggets were so keen to keep him in 2017 that they promoted Tim Connelly to President of Basketball Operations just so they could promote Karnisovas to GM. It was just a matter of time before he ended up running his own team. The Bulls made sure they ended up being the one.
The man appears ready for his opportunity. Now it should be interesting to see him in action.
