Source: Arturas Karnisovas plans to hire person of color to be Bulls general manager
The Chicago Bulls haven’t had a history of hiring high-ranking minority executives or front-facing figures, but the plan is to change that, sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Bulls are hiring Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas to head their basketball operations, and Karnisovas plans to hire a person of color to be the franchise’s general manager, a league source told Yahoo Sports.
COO Michael Reinsdorf, the son of Jerry Reinsdorf, spearheaded the hiring of Karnisovas, and the Bulls asked for permission to interview Oklahoma City Thunder vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver, an African-American. But they were denied by the Thunder, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Bulls also tried to interview Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, a Japanese-American, but were also denied.
Chicago reportedly interviewed many familiar white candidates, including Bryan Colangelo, Wes Wilcox and Danny Ferry, and drew the ire of some African-American candidates who did not get a chance to meet with Reinsdorf during the interview process before Karnisovas was hired.
Colangelo and Ferry had to leave previous posts under controversial circumstances in recent years. Wilcox and Ferry, while holding positions with the Atlanta Hawks, made racially insensitive comments during their time there.
Wilcox made an off-color joke during a meeting with season-ticket holders and was disciplined in 2017. Ferry read a racially insensitive scouting report on then-free agent Luol Deng in 2014 that said, “He’s got some African in him,” and then referenced counterfeit goods to draw a correlation.
Colangelo resigned as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers when it was revealed he and his wife operated burner Twitter accounts that were used to release sensitive team information and criticize several players.
The problematic pasts of Wilcox, Ferry and Colangelo bothered several controversy-free African-American executives who didn’t get a look. There’s just a handful of teams with black decision-makers, and the ones knocking on the door felt shut out of another opportunity.
Since Jerry Reinsdorf bought the franchise over 30 years ago, he’s hired three men for top basketball spots: the late Jerry Krause, John Paxson and Gar Forman.
All three are white men.
Former Bulls center Bill Cartwright coached the Bulls for the final 55 games of the 2001-02 season, the entire next season and 14 games of the 2003-04 campaign, but every other coach since the Michael Jordan era has been white.
The Bulls are one of several teams that employ a female assistant coach, Karen Stack Umlauf, who’s been with the franchise for over 20 years and on the bench since 2017.
Jerry Reinsdorf also owns the Chicago White Sox and an African-American, Kenny Williams, served as the team’s general manager for 12 seasons, including when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005.
Williams is currently the executive vice president for the club.
The younger Reinsdorf has made several diverse hires on the Bulls’ business operations side and has spoken publicly and privately about having a diverse staff, sources said.
Hiring Karnisovas is the first step in restructuring the entire basketball operations side with full autonomy. Paxson and Forman have alternated being in the top decision-making position since 2003, when Paxson took over. Forman became general manager in 2009, but since the 2016-17 season, Paxson has returned to a more front-facing role.
Paxson aided in the search with Michael Reinsdorf and is expected to be used as a resource for the future, should Karnisovas so choose.
Karnisovas could bring Nuggets assistant general manager Calvin Booth with him as general manager. But Booth, an African-American and former NBA player, could also be promoted by the Nuggets to take Karnisovas’ former post.
Karnisovas is low-key publicly, with strengths in scouting, drafting and player development — qualities that were high on the Bulls’ list for a top executive. He and Nuggets team president Tim Connelly helped turn around the franchise in the West with value draft picks such as Nikola Jokic (No. 41 in 2014) and Jamal Murray (No. 7 in 2016).
Sources told Yahoo Sports that having someone with presence is important to Michael Reinsdorf, which could affect Karnisovas’ potential GM hire. Krause, Paxson and Forman weren’t known to be charismatic figures, although Paxson’s standing as a former player made him more personable than the other two.
But finding someone who relates to today’s players could be the priority, considering how the franchise has struck out in free agency recently. Modernizing the team’s approach, front office and public profile with the league and the city could go hand-in-hand moving forward.
Karnisovas is the franchise's first outside hire to lead basketball operations, and it appears the agenda is to bring in a black general manager.
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