Chicago Bulls Hire Arturas Karnisovas, and Fire Gar Forman

Chicago Bulls made two big changes today. They hired Arturas Karnisovas, who later fired general manager Gar Forman.

The Lithuanian basketball legend became the executive vice president for basketball operations of Bulls, and immediately started taking big moves. He would fire the person who has been with the franchise 22 years, 11 of them as a general manager.

“Gar Forman worked tirelessly for the Chicago Bulls organization, first as a scout and then as an executive. He made many significant contributions during his time here and helped to bring some of the brightest young basketball talents to our team,” said the Chicago Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Arturas Karnisovas vs. Michael Jordan.

Playing with Olympiacos, Karnisovas scored 19 points vs. the Bulls in the 1997 McDonalds Championship Final in Paris. MJ finished with 27 points. pic.twitter.com/rjOK3Phl0I

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2020

Forman was hired as a scout in 1998, and became the general manager in 2009. Two years later, the league gave him the Executive of the Year Award for building a team that produced the MVP of the campaign – Derrick Rose.

Back then, the Bulls were one of the best teams in the league, with the potential, according to many, to create a dynasty that might deliver multiple titles. Regrettably, all that fell apart with Rose’s injuries. The last time this franchise participated in the playoffs was in 2017, with Jimmy Butler leading the crew.

After an unsuccessful rebuild process, the time has come for the franchise to change the personnel and apply some new strategies. It is why they hired Karnisovas.

The 48-year old was a key factor in developing the Denver Nuggets’ team, which became one of the best in the league. Karnisovas was scouting Nikola Jokic and had a huge part in finding several other stars of the franchise from Colorado. He was the assistant general manager from 2013, before becoming the GM in 2017.

“Arturas is one of the most respected basketball executives in the NBA. His resumé speaks for itself. I am thrilled that he is now a member of the Bulls,” said Michael Reinsdorf, team President & COO.

He has to dig deep in order to make a breakthrough with Chicago. The team has a few big talents but is still young and inexperienced. Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine are arguably the most prominent names, but Karnisovas has to find them proper support, and what is more important, the coaches who will improve the individual qualities of the entire crew. Coby White, Wendell Carter, and the rest of the youngsters need to enhance their skills, and the quality coaching staff is a necessity for Chicago.

Arturas Karnisovas: “One of my primary goals is to establish player development. We’re the second-youngest team in the league with a strong young core. Bulls drafted well. Players want to play, but at the end of the day, they want to win. My job is to facilitate that.”

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2020

That is why nobody knows what will happen with the current head coach Jim Boylen who didn’t leave such a good impression on the fans, and isn’t very popular. Also, the Bulls need a general manager after Forman’s release.

Karnisovas was one of the best European players during the ’90s. He was the player of the year in Europe in 1996, and was also one of the leaders of the Lithuanian national team. The strong forward played for Seton Hall and earned the Haggerty Award in 1994, as the best player in the All-New York Metropolitan Division. Back then, Karnisovas became the first player from the Soviet Union to play basketball at one American college.

After finishing his career, he would immediately become involved in all sorts of projects connected and organized by the NBA. For five years, Houston Rockets used Karnisovas as their European scout.