At the head of a row of cubicles sit the decision-making offices of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, the Chicago Bulls' vice president of basketball operations and general manager, respectively. These offices overlook the basketball courts below, each featuring a sliding glass door that opens onto an indoor balcony. From this elevated vantage point, Karnisovas and Eversley can oversee the team they have carefully assembled.
It's a pivotal time for the Bulls' leadership. Karnisovas, who began soliciting ideas from the front office, coaches, and players to execute a new vision, finds himself at a crossroads. For the second consecutive season, the Bulls were eliminated on the road by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. Missing the playoffs has become an unwelcome norm, occurring for the sixth time in the past seven years and the third time during Karnisovas' four-year tenure. It was during a press conference that Karnisovas declared he took "full responsibility" for the team's struggles.
Reflecting a clear shift in strategy, the Bulls made significant roster changes. Veteran players DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Andre Drummond were allowed to leave, replaced by younger talents such as Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Jalen Smith. This youth movement underscores Eversley's vision for a more sustainable future. "We've gone young. We've got players who are experienced and give us a greater opportunity to have a longer runway for sustainability to winning meaningful games for a longer time," Eversley explained.
The trade of DeRozan to the Oklahoma City Thunder was particularly poignant. DeRozan expressed his gratitude, saying, "A thank you would be an understatement. The love, passion, and joy you filled me with for three seasons was a dream. It gave me a drive every night to return the feeling." Eversley reciprocated the sentiment: "I love DeMar. He was terrific for our organization the last three years. But I don't think we were in a position to deliver what he was looking for going forward. He wants to win. He deserves an opportunity to win at a really high level. And arguably, we're not in that situation right now. As much as it hurt to let him go, I'm extremely happy for him."
This year, the Bulls held training camp outside of Chicago for the first time in nearly 40 years, opting for the campus of Belmont University in Nashville. The new setting symbolizes the fresh start the organization seeks. However, their mid-season record of 24–27 at the trade deadline reflected ongoing challenges. Despite this, the Bulls prioritized making the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season over unloading their veteran talent.
Zach LaVine, a key figure in the team's plans, had to undergo season-ending surgery in February but has fully recovered. LaVine has experienced clashes with coach Billy Donovan in recent years. However, Eversley remains optimistic: "The most unfortunate situation for Zach last year was that he got hurt. Coming out of camp, he wasn't right. Him going down early in the season proved that. When he came back, he was pretty good and the team was pretty good. Small sample size, but we can build off that."
As part of broader organizational changes, coaching staff saw significant turnover. Mo Cheeks, Chris Fleming, and Josh Longstaff departed, with Wes Unseld Jr. and Dan Craig stepping in as replacements. Eversley believes the changes align with the promised overhaul: "We've promised change and we think we've executed that. I think the changes being made at all levels of the organization are positive ones. Now it's time to put in the work and see if some of those changes are going to be fruitful or not."
The Bulls' future also bears the weight of their past decisions, such as owing their 2025 first-round draft pick to the Spurs, though it remains top-10 protected. As the new season approaches, the Bulls' leadership is focused on realizing their vision of a team that blends youthful promise with the potential for sustained success, hoping that the road ahead proves rosier than the one recently traveled.