Bulls exec Arturas Karnisovas continues to preach patience from frustrated fans

CHICAGO (AP) — If nothing else, Arturas Karnisovas is sticking to his guns.

The Chicago Bulls’ top basketball executive had a familiar request for frustrated fans, stressing patience while talking about not skipping steps, just as he did at the end of last season.

“We have to be patient,” he said Monday at the team’s media day. “We have to do it the right way and we can’t skip steps. For this team, for next year, we’ve got to show growth. We’ve got to get better every year. We saw the glimpse at the end of last year. We also saw how we played against Miami (in a play-in loss). Those lessons are learned.”

Chicago has just one playoff appearance in five seasons since Karnisovas was hired as executive vice president of basketball operations. The Bulls return largely intact after going 39-43 for the second straight season and finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference.

A team that went 15-5 down the regular-season stretch only to get knocked out of the play-in tournament for the third year in a row by the Heat with a blowout loss at the United Center had a rather quiet offseason.

The Bulls drafted Noa Essengue out of the French Basketball League with the No. 12 pick and traded Lonzo Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro. But other than that, the roster looks pretty much the same. The most notable move was re-signing Josh Giddey to a four-year contract extension.

The Bulls haven’t had an All-Star since DeMar DeRozan in 2023. And the lack of a franchise cornerstone player is glaring, particularly in a more open Eastern Conference, with Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton recovering from torn Achilles tendons.

They’re banking on guards Coby White and Giddey to take their games to the next level after playing at near All-Star levels last season, as well as Matas Buzelis coming off a promising rookie year.

“Team success … is essential to getting your guys to be All-Stars,” Karnisovas said. “We are focused on winning. Those guys have to get better this year. Team success will establish them if they’re good enough to be All-Stars or not. … We’ve got to focus on our internal development and continue adding players in the draft.”

Asked if the playoffs are the goal this season, Karnisovas responded: “At the end of the day, our ultimate goal is obviously to win the championship. We’re in a position where we have to focus on our growth, what we’ve done well last year and what we need to do this year.”

The Bulls need Giddey, who had seven triple-doubles, to develop into a more reliable defender and for Buzelis to continue to build on the progress he showed over the course of last season. They also have a strong trade chip in center Nikola Vucevic, who has an expiring contract.

White, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins and Jevon Carter also are set to come off the books at the end of the season. White, who averaged a career-high 20.4 points last season, insisted he hasn’t given much thought to free agency. He will be limited at least at the start of training camp after he strained his calf in August.

“I’m not really thinking about next year, I’m thinking about now and how I can help my team win and become better in every aspect of the game,” White said. “So for me, it’s not really on my brain or anything like that. I love being here. I love the front office. I love the relationship I’ve built with Coach (Billy Donovan). Obviously, me and my teammates are super close. I’m enjoying every moment.”

Dosunmu, a Chicago product, said he’s focused on the more immediate future than where he might be playing next year. He said he’s feeling “great” coming off season-ending shoulder surgery.

“It really was a pretty straightforward recovery from the time I had surgery to following the protocols and the steps to get back,” Dosunmu said. “I had a great team, great strength team.”

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