How Artūras Karnišovas’ trade history could shape Bulls’ week
How Artūras Karnišovas’ trade history could shape Bulls’ week originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
In just over two months, Artūras Karnišovas will hit his four-year anniversary of being named executive vice president, basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls.
It’s well documented how much change Karnišovas enacted initially upon taking the job; only Zach LaVine and Coby White remain from the roster he inherited.
In fact, Karnišovas has made six trades in his tenure, including a roster-shaking flurry of five from March 2021 to August 2021.
But Karnišovas only has made one trade since, sitting out the last two NBA trade deadlines. And his NBA draft night acquisition of Julian Phillips’ rights for two future second-round picks lands as a minor transaction, although Phillips has showed rotational promise.
A closer look at Karnišovas’ trades reveals something deeper: He had little trouble trading away the roster he inherited when his predecessor, John Paxson, transitioned into a senior advisor role.
—Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr., plus two future first-round picks, left in the Nikola Vučević acquisition.
—Chandler Hutchison, Daniel Gafford and Luke Kornet received new homes in the three-team deal that netted the Bulls Troy Brown Jr. and Daniel Theis.
–Tomáš Satoranský and a second-round pick, plus Garrett Temple (more on that later), went to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade deal.
—Thad Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a first-round pick and two second-round picks traveled to San Antonio in DeMar DeRozan’s sign-and-trade acquisition.
—And Lauri Markkanen moved to Cleveland in the three-team deal that netted the Bulls Derrick Jones Jr. and future first- and second-round picks from Portland and Cleveland, respectively.
But of those six trades, only two players—Temple and Aminu—represented players acquired by Karnišovas. And while Temple served a solid role as a minor…
