Arturas Karnisovas has the Chicago Bulls in a familiar spot. They’re 39-43 and just lost to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. That’s exactly what happened last year, although it was helped by a 15-6 stretch to get the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference.
In the near future, Karnisovas has a few big decisions to make. He has to decide on the direction the team needs to go and what to do with Josh Giddey and Coby White. Both are playing well, but they will need extensions pretty soon.
Arturas Karnisovas hints at decisions on Josh Giddey and Coby White
After another season with a frustrating result and a seeming lack of direction, Arturas Karnisovas was asked whether he had a plan for the team as they seemed to continue running in place. Instead of getting better or worse, they appear to be stuck.
He pushed back on that via the Chicago Sun-Times, “Well, there is a plan. I think we’re always going to look at how to improve this roster by adding a player or high-caliber player.” But he also believes that White and Giddey can easily become the high-caliber star he says he’s looking for.
“At the same time, I would not put any limitations on this roster or on the way Coby [White] has been playing, the way Josh [Giddey] has been playing, so I think those players have a chance to play at a very high level. We’re constantly going to be looking for ways to improve from year to year,” he said.
White has consistently improved in his time in the NBA, but the Bulls will likely have to offer him the max, and he is not yet at that level. The Bulls guard is a good player, but is he so good that the Bulls have to keep him? Maybe not, but Karnisovas seems to think he is going to continue getting better and become a true superstar in the NBA.
Giddey, who was traded to the Bulls from the Oklahoma City Thunder, had a strong year for the Bulls and at times looked like their best player. He is also in a similar boat, as he’s not yet good enough to warrant a huge contract, one the Bulls might have to offer if they want to keep him. Again, Karnisovas seems to think he will also improve and become a borderline All-NBA duo with White.
That may not be the best plan, but it seems to be the plan that Karnisovas is working with right now. The executive doesn’t want to tear it down and instead wants to improve the roster, but that might just entail costly extensions for two young players.
