Arturas Karnisovas won't fix his mouth to say he's steering the Chicago Bulls in a different direction, but his actions are speaking loud and clear.
By Drew Stevens
The Bigs Bulls Beat Reporter
On Wednesday, Artūras Karnišovas used the 11th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to catch Matas Buzelis as the Hinsdale native took an unexpected tumble past the early stages of the lottery. In a vacuum, his decision to select Buzelis, who was projected to be one of the first five prospects off the board, wasn't a tip of his hand. But when placed within the context of him having sent Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey just five days earlier, it gives credence to the growing belief that sweeping changes are in the cards.
Of course, the typically enigmatic executive vice president of basketball ops was, well, enigmatic on that topic.
"I'm going to let the free agency process work out," Karnisovas said during his media availability at the Advocate Center before promising he'd have more to say about the team's direction in the next week or two.
In the meantime, speculation about the futures of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams will continue to run rampant.
DeRozan has been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers and is set to hit unrestricted free agency Sunday, unless he finds common ground on an extension before then, which Karnisovas said is still an option. Williams, a restricted free agent, suffered a season-ending stress reaction in his left foot. Although he is still recovering from surgery, Williams planned to be ready for training camp, Karnisovas said. Meanwhile, after undergoing elective surgery on his right foot in February, it's full steam ahead for LaVine.
"Zach is fully cleared to do everything," Karnisovas said, perhaps in an effort to drum up more interest in the polarizing former two-time All-Star whom he continues to dangle on the trade market.
While it's unclear if anyone from that trio will play another home game in the United Center, Buzelis was overcome with emotion after having his dream of being Bull come to fruition.
"I'm blessed, man," Buzelis said on the ESPN broadcast." This is what I wanted. I wanted to be here. Thank you to the Bulls organization. I'm ready to work. I was born for this."
Buzelis, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound forward, averaged 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for G League Ignite last season. While he oozes potential, Buzelis has some work to do, namely on his body and shooting touch -- the first two areas in which he acknowledged he needed to improve during a virtual interview with local media. The 19-year-old shot 43.1% on threes during his last year in high school but connected on just 27.3% of his looks from deep for Ignite. Though it should be noted, part of his struggles from long range could be due, in part, to his acclimation to the difference in the distance of the three-point line.
Karnisovas touted Buzelis' versatility, both offensively and defensively, in the face of there being a premium on multi-faceted wings.
"He played against men," Karnisovas said. "That Ignite team just got beat up and a lot of those guys came from winning programs, but this year they didn't win that many games. But they competed against grown men. I think physicality -- as close as you can get to NBA game -- that's what they experienced in G League. So hopefully that translates to the NBA for him faster.
"But he has a lot of things to work on and I think he's looking forward to it."
Heading into Wednesday, speculation held that Karnisovas was entertaining the idea of selecting Providence's Devin Carter or trading up to nab UConn's Donovan Clingan. That he snagged a raw product like Buzelis and not the ready-made guard nor the two-time national champion center for whom he would've had to surrender draft capital, speaks to Karnisovas leaning into change.
Even if he won't admit it out loud.
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