The consistency of the Bulls’ front office must be applauded.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley began the offseason with no real plan about how to land a superstar who would make the Bulls appear to be a -serious organization, then spent the last four months carrying out that plan of no plan to perfection.
Solid pieces on a deep roster? Check. That ‘‘dude’’ who can hold up an NBA -Finals MVP trophy? Nowhere in sight.
That’s why when the players start to filter into Chicago in the next month for scrimmages at the Advocate Center, it will have a small ripple effect rather than a large splash.
A mediocre team doing mediocre things — to the surprise of no one.
‘‘Well, there is a plan,’’ Karnisovas tried to insist in his last official sit-down with the
local media.
He then explained that plan as not putting limitations on the ceiling of the roster he has.
‘‘I think we’re always going to look at how to improve this roster by adding a player or high-caliber player,’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘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. I think those players have a chance to play on a very high level. We’re constantly going to be looking for ways to improve from year to year.’’
Just not this year.
Sure, Matas Buzelis is expected to pop, but it still will be only his sophomore season.
Yes, White can take another step toward All-Star consideration, but he’s still on the outside of those halls looking in.
Then there’s Giddey, who is still in a contract-extension standoff with the team. The Bulls don’t know whether they will be getting the player who was unusable late in games last November and December or the one who was a triple-double threat in every game for the last six weeks of last season.
Again, hope isn’t a plan, but it’s the only plan this front office has going for it right now.
The Bulls did trade Lonzo Ball to the Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro, who could move into the starting lineup and quickly cover up some gaping holes on defense. Even at his best, however, Okoro is still only a piece.
The front office loves to tout the idea of all the financial freedom coming its way next summer, when possibly six contracts — those of Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, White, Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter — come off the books. But the days of quick fixes through free agency died years ago.
Good organizations hold on to their own players or figure out a way through sign-and-trades to capitalize on the market. The Bulls’ front office far too often has figured out a way to throw good money at mediocre players, then hand those players a player option to further dictate the terms.
The best path forward for the Bulls is the one they refuse to take. The summer has shown the 2026 draft class has a chance to be even better than the one in 2025 — at least more top-heavy.
Darryn Peterson is the consensus No. 1 pick right now, but A.J. Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer (son of former Bulls forward Carlos Boozer) can change that by the winter. Throw in Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr. and Jayden Quaintance, and it’s a draft that feels six deep.
A team such as the Wizards is counting on that. The Bulls? It’s an afterthought. Let the lottery balls fall where they may. Playing the slow game for a front office that has time — and contract extensions — on their hands.
‘‘I think for us, we need to remain diligent and pragmatic about how we build this,’’ Eversley said in June. ‘‘We don’t want to skip steps. Sometimes when you do skip steps, expectations build and you make mistakes. I don’t think we want to do that.’’
Don’t worry. No expectations have been built here.
