The Chicago Bulls have had a curse ever since owner Jerry Reinsdorf made the decision not to run it back after the 1988 NBA championship, prompting Michael Jordan to briefly retire.
The Bulls had moderate success with Derrick Rose, but he was never the same after his ACL injury in 2012.
Since the Bulls’ loss in the conference finals to the Miami Heat in 2011, Chicago has won two playoff series, with the last coming in the first round of the 2015 playoffs. The Bulls’ last playoff appearance was in 2022, the second year of the former regime of executive Artūras Karnišovas.
On Wednesday, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf took responsibility for the team’s recent failures, suggesting new executive vice president of basketball Bryson Graham was capable of making hard but necessary changes to make the team competitive again.
“First I’ll start with our fans,” Reinsdorf said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “I want to, actually I need to, say I’m sorry because the results obviously haven’t been there. It’s not something I’m proud of and it’s something I want to get right. Ultimately it flows up to me and I take responsibility.
“I do feel that (Wednesday) is a step in the right direction and it’s an important step. At the end of the day, Bryson just clearly stood out. So why Bryson? I think it starts with he’s not about shortcuts.”
Maybe Bill Donovan’s decision to flee the ship got Reinsdorf’s attention.
The Chicago Bulls are in full rebuild mode
New Chicago Bulls executive Bryson Graham: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
The Bulls chose Graham because of his history of having an eye for talent, and Chicago needs a lot of that in the next few draft classes. Karnišovas had a knack for missing elite players like Tyrese Haliburton and Derik Queen.
Graham was honest in his assessment of the Bulls’ current roster, saying the team was in need of a rebuild. Most executives shy away from saying the “R” word out loud.
“Most rebuild situations are when you don’t have star-caliber players,” Graham said. “Right now, not to say we don’t have anyone on this roster that can get there, but until we continue to draft well, add to this mix, and add overall talent and team identity, yeah, we’re in a rebuilding phase.”
The Bulls needed to start with honesty about needing to rebuild. Karnišovas never wanted to blow it up, opting to compete for the Play-In Tournament after the Play-In Tournament.
Chicago deserves better, and the Bulls for once are trying to make that change.
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