SAN ANTONIO – In the few impromptu conversations Arturas Karnisovas does have with members of the media throughout the season, he comes across as very normal.
The Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations has a dry sense of humor, is good for a laugh, and prioritizes family.
When it comes to his philosophy of roster construction and discussions surrounding that, however? Well, that’s where Karnisovas sounds more like a flat earther. The guy that is year after year denying the indisputable.
Thank goodness for Bulls guards Collin Sexton and Tre Jones tripping up at the horn in the final seconds of Saturday’s loss to Memphis or Sunday would feel a little different. The Bulls would be ahead of sinking Milwaukee in the standings, but behind them in the race for better draft lottery odds.
That means rather than having a 20.3% to hit top four, they would be down to 13.9%. Rather than hoping for the longshot of striking the No. 1 pick at 4.5%, it would be just 3%.
Not a big gap when one tries to math the math, but considering Karnisovas’ draft failures, he needs all the help he can get.
If staying the course can aid the Bulls and their front office to have an almost 7% chance to hit an AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson, they should take it with a glance at the sky and a huge smile on their face.
In case Karnisovas & Co. still want to ignore that, maybe a reminder of the top of the NBA standings – territory very unfamiliar to them – will help.
Detroit and Boston sit atop the Eastern Conference, respectively, while defending champion Oklahoma City is trying to hold off San Antonio in the Western Conference. The four teams have a combined nine players on the roster that were drafted by them as top five picks.
The Celtics nailed it in back-to-back seasons with Jalen Brown (No. 3 in 2016) and Jayson Tatum (No. 3 in ’17), while the Pistons tanked their way to Cade Cunningham (No. 1) in 2021 and then followed that up with Ausar Thompson (No. 5 in ’23) and Ron Holland (No. 5 in ’24).
For the Spurs, it starts and ends with their understanding of knowing when to push all the chips into the center of the table and strike, landing No. 1 in the 2023 draft and getting Victor Wembanyama. The follow up to that was then Stephon Castle (No. 4 in ’24) and Dylan Harper (No. 2 in ’25), setting the stage for San Antonio to be a serious problem for the rest of the league for at least the next five years.
And don’t forget the Thunder, who have used draft assets and draft-class-talent-understanding to pick Chet Holmgren No. 2 overall (’22).
Even moving away from the top of the standings, if one needs an example of an up-and-coming team that has used the top of the lottery well the last five years take a look at Charlotte. The Hornets have three top 4 picks currently starting for them, going from a 19-win team last year to sitting at 39 entering Sunday.
What has Karnisovas put on his resume? One top five pick in six seasons and that was Patrick Williams at No. 4 in 2020.
Ignore the loud thud just heard in the background.
With just eight games left, including two games in lowly Washington in a few weeks, hopefully this will start to sink in for the Bulls’ executive. Josh Giddey has very little left to prove this season, while Sexton could very likely be elsewhere by July in free agency. It’s time to play the inexperienced guys and let nature take its course.
The NBA is a talent-acquisition based coloring book, and the top of the draft provides the best crayons. Karnisovas needs to start there.
Debating the earth being flat or a sphere? Save that for a later day.
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