Note to Michael Reinsdorf: 'Very Good Basketball Players' Alone Do Not Win Championships

The culmination of the Bulls' minimally compliant effort towards changing their roster was another Arturas Karnisovas press conference that created more questions than answers provided. So many questions that it is now time for Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf to provide answers through his ownership actions (since he rarely provides public statements on his basketball franchise).

Mr. Reinsdorf, as a NBA governor, I assume you care about the business of NBA basketball as it relates to the Chicago Bulls and not just the legacy business models that created your family wealth. If not, no need to read further.

I also assume you hold yourself accountable to the championship standard that is implicit and forever memorialized in the six NBA championship banners and the Michael Jordan statue that reside at the United Center. Again, if not, no need to read further.

However, if you truly are in the business of NBA basketball and care about upholding a championship standard of competition in your basketball operations, then you have basketball problems you need to address in your franchise. The overarching basketball problem in your Bulls franchise is the need to fully commit your organization to a roster rebuild primarily through the NBA Draft, and here's why.

Your Front Office Leadership is Not Respected by Peers

The Chicago Bulls front office, led by Arturas Karnisovas is a bottom-five rated front office in the eyes of NBA peers according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

If your front office isn't respected by peers, then it isn't unreasonable to suggest the front office may not be respected by elite NBA players and their representation. This in turn makes Chicago a less-likely destination for those players if they can choose where to go in free agency via signing or trade.  

Going three NBA seasons (the 2021-22 through 2023-24 season) without executing a single in-season trade was once a befuddling data point on the Bulls front office. However, it makes all the sense in the world knowing other front offices don't have a high opinion of their peers in Chicago.  

Perhaps this is why the Bulls were unable to complete a Nikola Vucevic trade with the Golden State Warriors. Frankly, I don't blame the Warriors at all if the price tag for Vucevic was hard set on a first-round draft pick, as Hoops Hype's Michael Scotto reported.

Before dealing Zach LaVine to the Kings, the Bulls reportedly had multiple opportunities to trade LaVine to either the New York Knicks or Dallas Mavericks, dating back to 2020. 

After five seasons, Mr. Reinsdorf, it is time for you to refocus your basketball operations on the draft because it appears your front office isn't capable of executing either a trade or free agency negotiation that will bring elite NBA basketball talent to the Windy City.

Elite Star NBA Talent is Required to Compete for NBA Titles

One of the most dubious quotes uttered during a Karnisovas press conference occurred on Feb. 6, 2025, when he confidently stated in reply to ESPN's Jamal Collier: 

"There's different structures that you can try to get to a championship. There's 2-3 star players and then a lot of role players or you can build it as nine-10 very good players. Now we [are] leaning towards having a lot of solid good players. Nine-10 that can last through the season because there's going to be injuries and more and more teams are doing that."

- Arturas Karnisovas

Simply stated, Karnisovas' quote is bad, as is the overall messaging Karnisovas delivered in his press conference. It is so bad that it spawned a follow-up one-on-one interview between Karnisovas and CHSN's K.C. Johnson to minimal effect.

Mr. Reinsdorf, perhaps you have access to sufficient internal metrics and analysis that inform how your franchise goes about scouting and acquiring talent for your roster. 

If that's not the case, I recommend a simple metric to judge the effectiveness of individual NBA players called Box Plus/Minus(BPM). The metric functions on a spectrum that defines the full realm of NBA basketball performance from end-of-bench to MVP-level players.

The BPM history of all subsequent NBA championship playoff rosters since the Bulls' final 1997-98 NBA title debunks Karnisovas' claim that a championship roster can be constructed by choosing to acquire "nine-10 very good players" as opposed to acquiring two or three star-level NBA players along with complementary role players.

In BPM terms, I define star players as +4.0 or greater BPM players and very good players as players between +2.0 and +2.4 BPM.  

When reviewing the playoff roster BPMs (to better account for the roster impact of in-season trades) for the 25 subsequent NBA champions after the 1997-98 title, there is not a single NBA championship roster that fielded 9-10 +2.0 BPM players. However, every single one of those championship rosters had one or more +4.0 BPM players per Basketball Reference.

If elite star-level NBA talent is required for an NBA championship and the front office has failed to deliver said talent via free agency or trades, then the NBA Draft must be the Bulls' franchise focus in terms of acquiring the requisite talent for NBA title contention.  

Moreover, Mr. Reinsdorf, in light of the messaging from Arturas Karnisovas after the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, you should question if your front office fundamentally understands the talent requirements for a championship-caliber roster and is capable of acquiring that talent.

The Bulls' Team Defense Has Regressed Since the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season

At the conclusion of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls finished the season with the NBA fifth-ranked defense in terms of defensive rating (112.2) per Basketball Reference.  

The Bulls' surprising achievement was fueled primarily by the elite defensive wizardry of former Bulls guard Alex Caruso, along with the best efforts of traditionally one-way players in help defense such as former Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan, Bulls guard Coby White, and Bulls center Nikola Vucevic. 

Fast forward to the 2023-24 regular season, where the Bulls finished with the NBA's 21st-ranked defense in terms of defensive rating (116.3), even while rostering Alex Caruso for his second NBA All-Defensive team selection season.

52 games into the 2024-25 regular season, the Bulls' defensive efficiency has regressed even further to the 25th-ranked defense in terms of defensive rating (116.3) and there is a glimmer of hope in the Bulls' defensive future thanks to Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis' defensive skills.  

Buzelis by himself can't save the Bulls defense, therefore the franchise must rebuild via the draft to build a sound, cost-efficient team defense.

A Call to Action for Bulls Ownership

Michael Reinsdorf, the mandate for a roster rebuild within your basketball operations department is clear from top to bottom. Assuming your head of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas, will only commit to a rebuild under your direction, give him that direction immediately.

If for some reason Karnisovas is communicating to you that a rebuild is not required, challenge that position and become willing to consider new leadership in your front office. The consequences of a delay to a full commitment of rebuilding are likely compounded years of NBA irrelevancy.