Something is deeply wrong with the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n
The problem goes far beyond Wednesday\u2019s demoralizing, disgraceful blowout loss<\/a> to the Miami Heat. It goes beyond losing in the play-in tournament to the same team<\/a> for three consecutive years. This team is broken. There\u2019s no clear path forward. After a full decade without winning a playoff series \u2014 or a single home playoff game \u2014 the Bulls no longer represent winning.<\/p>\n So where are the consequences?<\/p>\n Most of the talk around the Bulls offseason is focused on minutiae \u2014 the right price tag for re-signing Josh Giddey<\/a>, targets for a late lottery pick in the draft. But if the Reinsdorf family is still serious about the Bulls in any capacity, ownership should take on a bigger task this summer: determining the source of the problem and digging it up by the roots.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start at the bottom. This isn\u2019t the fault of the players. This season\u2019s roster bought into a new mentality and a completely fresh style of play, ran harder than any other team in the league and still finished with a losing record.<\/p>\n There was no extra sacrifice or strategy that individual players could have delivered to elevate their play to a competitive level. Wednesday\u2019s 19-point play-in loss put into sharp contrast the worst aspects of this team: a dismal defense paired with an offense that is overdependent on transition scoring and 3-pointers \u2014 a simple formula any top coach in the league can crack.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s not the players, then logic leads us further up the ladder to coach Billy Donovan.<\/p>\n Despite posting a 195-205 regular-season record, Donovan has been considered one of the safest members of the current Bulls regime. After five seasons in Chicago, the newly minted Hall of Famer<\/a> is the fifth-longest-tenured coach in the NBA \u2014 a reflection of the league\u2019s volatility as much as a statement on his dependability.<\/p>\n Every year, so-called gambling experts set odds that Donovan is one of the five likeliest NBA coaches to lose his job. And every year, they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n Donovan\u2019s presence is a constant. The front office loves him. The players love him. And his work ethic and ability to develop young players have shielded him from internal questioning even after three consecutive losing seasons.<\/p>\n For a different coach or team, Wednesday\u2019s play-in loss might have signaled a change. Donovan was outcoached. Solidly. He hasn\u2019t been in many postseason situations during his tenure in Chicago: five playoff games in 2022 and five play-in games over the last three seasons. He\u2019s 3-7 in those games.<\/p>\n But executive vice president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas remains dogged in his belief that Donovan is the correct coach for the Bulls, who are prioritizing player development<\/a> over postseason strategy as they enter another rebuilding cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done an unbelievable job to transform this group and accomplish certain goals of changing the way we played,\u201d Karni\u0161ovas said during exit interviews Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s a buy-in from the players\u2019 perspective. They buy into (what) Billy\u2019s trying to teach them and they respond to him. So he\u2019s done an unbelievable job and I have full confidence moving forward with Billy.\u201d<\/p>\n Photos: Chicago Bulls\u2019 end-of-season news conference after finishing short of playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n If the players and the coach are safe from the hot seat, that means only one person is left: Karni\u0161ovas himself.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the blame for the Bulls\u2019 demise this season lies with the front office\u2019s strategy. Karni\u0161ovas refused to tank to improve the team\u2019s lottery odds in a potentially game-changing 2025 draft. He spent most of his exit interview preaching the importance of \u201cyoung players with experience,\u201d an emphasis that has stuffed the roster with decent supporting-cast players and zero future All-Stars.<\/p>\n And Karni\u0161ovas doesn\u2019t seem to fundamentally believe in the value of a rebuild. For years the Bulls front office has referenced the Detroit Pistons as a cautionary tale of the risks involved in fully committing to building through the draft. Even as that argument was disproved this season \u2014 as the Pistons returned to the playoffs with a 44-38 record \u2014 the Bulls stayed the course in the middle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be realistic about this roster. Coby White is performing to his ceiling<\/a>. Giddey has improved but is nowhere close to a star who can bail out a team in a must-win game. Lonzo Ball is a potential game changer but still can\u2019t shake<\/a> the injury bug. Matas Buzelis is years away<\/a> from developing into any kind of stardom. Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 is reaching the end of his rope. The second unit is steeply limited. Patrick Williams might be flat-out hopeless.<\/p>\n Before the season even started, Donovan admitted the outlook was bleak for his roster. The defense was bad. The offense had to rely on an unsustainable pace of play and prolific 3-point shooting, two features that immediately dried up in Wednesday\u2019s elimination game. The flaws were obvious from a mile away, long before the play-in debacle.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s the thing \u2014 the Bulls aren\u2019t cursed or unlucky. They just aren\u2019t any good. And, no, it\u2019s not a matter of injuries or continuity or competitiveness or youth development or any other excuse Karni\u0161ovas has thought up over the past four years.<\/p>\n This team is not good. It can\u2019t compete with the bottom-shelf playoff teams in the league\u2019s inferior conference. And there\u2019s little evidence the front office possesses the creativity or pragmatism to compile a competitive roster in the next five years.<\/p>\n