The Chicago Bulls are mired in mediocrity and do not seem to know how to get out of it.
Although, part of the reason for being in NBA purgatory is Lonzo Ball has been sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury. When he was in the lineup, the Bulls were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Since he first suffered the right knee injury in January of 2022, the Bulls went from contending for a top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs to barely getting into the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Losing Ball is not the main reason the Chicago Bulls are nowhere near competing for an NBA title. The roster is poorly constructed, and the coaching has been suspect at times.
The man responsible for putting the team together, Artūras Karnišovas, has failed to add enough shooting to compete for a title.
Head coach Billy Donovan struggles to coach the game in front of him. Also, the team’s energy and focus were very inconsistent throughout last season. They could get up for a big game, but then play flat against a lesser opponent.
Karnišovas keeps moving the goalpost. The goal heading into last season was to try to compete for a top spot in the conference. Then at the trade deadline, it changed to just making the playoffs. Then after the play-in tournament, it was acceptable to just get there.
Donovan’s poor coaching in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat is one reason the Bulls were eliminated. The Heat took that victory as a springboard into the playoffs and pulled off a shocking elimination of the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
There were no repercussions for such a disappointing season.
There are reports that Karnišovas was quietly given a contract extension. Donovan was already quietly extended. Secrecy and accepting mediocrity seem to be a thing with the Bulls.
Did the #Bulls secretly give Arturas Karnisovas a contract extension?
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) May 4, 2023
One source told @DarnellMayberry that has happened. @dan_bernstein and @LaurenceWHolmes shared what Bulls' habit of not publicly revealing extensions says about them.
Listen: https://t.co/P3lWX8xgQc pic.twitter.com/4pYDP0Xn5h
Instead of realizing the Chicago Bulls are not going anywhere with those two in charge, Bulls’ ownership wants to run it back much like they have done for almost a generation.
Meanwhile, the Bucks looked at the disappointment of being the sixth No. 1 seed ever to be eliminated in the first round and took action.
They just fired head coach Mike Budenholzer.
He was let go two seasons after he led the Bucks to an NBA title. He was dismissed after he coached the Bucks to three No. 1 seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He was canned after winning nearly 70% of his regular-season games during five years.
Heck, the man lost his job even though he coached the team in the playoffs while he mourned the loss of his brother who died during the series against the Heat.
The timing might not have been great, but the Milwaukee Bucks saw that just making the playoffs is not okay and did something about it.
The expectations are to win titles in Milwaukee and Coach Bud only won one. The franchise recognized that outside of 2021, Budenholzer was only going to take the team to regular season glory and playoff pain.
A long time ago, the Bulls used to be a franchise like that.
They fired Doug Collins in the late 1980s after it was decided he was only going to take the team so far. Collins had to go to make room for Phil Jackson, and six titles later, the rest is history.
The Bucks want to make a similar type of history and that is one reason Budenholzer suffered the same fate as Collins. Only Budenholzer won the Bucks a championship and it still was not good enough.
The Chicago Bulls are now trying to achieve just being relevant.
Although, that is what owner Jerry Reinsdorf has always wanted. He likes having a team that is competing in meaningful games late in the season.
"I think the important thing to fans is, while they want you to win championships, they want to know that when they get down to the last month of the season you still have a shot. You’re still playing meaningful games. If you can do that consistently you’ll make your fans happy."
— Blake Schuster (@Schustee) May 1, 2023
Reinsdorf’s comments were aimed at the other team he owns, the Chicago White Sox, but he has run the Sox the same way he has run the Bulls. He is very loyal to his underperforming management.
The Bucks on the other hand have had their fair share of hard times before Giannis Antetokounmpo showed up in Milwaukee. They still tried anything they could to get out of the NBA Lottery.
The Bucks went through three general managers during the entire time John Paxson and Gar Forman ran the Bulls. Heck, the Bucks even hired Scott Skiles and Jason Kidd to coach the team.
It was only after they brought in Budenholzer did the team start to achieve success. Now, he is out of a job because he got outcoached in four of his five playoff appearances. That is what needs to be done when a team has a generational talent like Giannis. The Bulls used to be like that when they had Michael Jordan.
Now, the Bulls are just happy to be relevant in early April.