WASHINGTON \u2014 It isn\u2019t very often that Michael Reinsdorf speaks publicly about the state of the Bulls.<\/p>\n
Then again, it isn\u2019t very often that the team president makes the decision to remove a front office before a season ends and before it has at least a decade on the job.<\/p>\n
He did both in 24 hours, pulling the plug on vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, and then discussing the decision Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
And while the younger Reinsdorf went through a list of what the Bulls need to see from their next front office, how they will use an outside firm to help with the hiring and how he plans on taking a more hands-on approach in trying to get the organization back on track, he also was transparent in their flaws, saying he\u2019ll do what it takes to fix them.<\/p>\n
The Bulls\u2019 overlying philosophy has been not to tank. Reinsdorf reiterated that but admitted they need to be better in understanding league trends and being in front of them rather than chasing them.<\/p>\n
There was a report that the former front office was trying to sell ownership on tanking but was told no. That was inaccurate \u2014 or it was members of the former front office trying to do damage control.<\/p>\n
Either way, Karnisovas \u2014 both publicly and privately \u2014 always stood on \u201ccompetitive integrity\u201d and the idea of winning games no matter what the standings say. Could Reinsdorf start changing his stance on that when he sees where the Pistons and Spurs sit in the standings after tanking in previous years?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know where the lottery changes are happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know what\u2019s out there and what\u2019s being talked about, but we have to see where the league goes. Once we see where the league goes, that\u2019s really important, understanding that trend. We haven\u2019t always done that. We haven\u2019t always recognized the trends on where things are going.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in 2012 or \u201913, when the three-point shooting started to increase, if we would have anticipated that more and how it was going to change, we probably would have had different decision-making in some of the players we drafted. So you\u2019ve got to stay ahead of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Autonomy will be reexamined<\/p>\n
Reinsdorf said that while the Bulls\u2019 and White Sox\u2019 front offices mostly have been given full autonomy, that has to be reexamined, at least with the Bulls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to hold myself accountable too,\u201d Reinsdorf said. \u201cWe do give a lot of autonomy to our people, but that doesn\u2019t mean they can just make any decisions they want. It\u2019s our job to ask the right questions and to push back when needed. So it\u2019s not just going to be like, \u2018OK, we hired you, now we\u2019re done, we\u2019ll see you in a few years. Hopefully, we\u2019re good.\u2019 We\u2019ve got to really ask the right questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not missing much<\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t many certainties on the Bulls\u2019 roster for next season, but Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis seem to be two of them.<\/p>\n
Both players were left back in Chicago for the two-game mini-series against the Wizards. Giddey is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Buzelis is still fighting an illness.<\/p>\n
Coach Billy Donovan said Buzelis might rejoin the team for the game Thursday, but that was up in the air.<\/p>\n
Not that either were needed as the Bulls hammered the Wizards 129-98. Rob Dillingham scored a career-high 26 points.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Donovan obviously still wants to have the scheduled sit-down with the Reinsdorfs after the season to discuss the future, but he talked like a person who was already in the mix in figuring out that future.<\/p>\n [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] read<\/p>\n![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/297db99\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6858x4572+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Ff6%2F61%2F4aa0c2614cd3aa1f192380b45118%2Fbulls-spurs-basketball-1.jpg\")
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