Next 10 days could change immediate future for the Bulls organization

It was the first real fissure in the relationship.

Back on Jan. 15, the Sun-Times reported that Bulls ownership was finally putting pressure on executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to not only pick a lane but get this roster moving in some sort of positive direction.

If that meant one step back to eventually take two steps forward, so be it.

Up to that point, the mentality from the Reinsdorfs was very hands off. In their eyes it was Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley who made the mess, and it was on them to fix it.

Less than three months later the stakes have changed.

Now, ownership is weighing if the mess has gotten too large for them to fix, and according to a source everything is on the table in the next 10 days.

First and foremost, coach Billy Donovan could be the most important domino currently standing. North Carolina has had Donovan and Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd in the cross-hairs since the coaching seat became vacant.

Lloyd was extended a five-year deal on Friday night to stay put, however, as the Tar Heels have been using back channels to continue letting Donovan know they are very interested. There was some thought that Donovan could walk away before the Bulls season was even concluded, but one insider said that will not happen.

To Donovan’s credit, he has been very transparent leading up to the end of this Bulls season, insisting over and over that his scheduled sit-down with ownership and the front office will determine a lot. Maybe a bit of an undersell, considering it could determine everything for the coach and organization.

Those that know Donovan still feel like he has unfinished business at the NBA level, but with how college basketball has transformed with NIL and the transfer portal, that can also be an itch he would like to scratch.

The other option that was recently reported by the Sun-Times was Donovan stays with the Bulls, and is given a choice of coaching and building a new front office out to his liking or takes the Brad Stevens journey and moves into a head front job.

The latter is a stretch considering how much Donovan still enjoys coaching.

Either way, there is a real likelihood that the Bulls are conducting a coaching search in less than two weeks or simply promoting Wes Unseld Jr. since the coaching staff is all under contract through at least next season.

If there is a search, however, who would conduct it?

That is the other major decision ownership has to make. Do they do an entire purge and move on from Karnisovas and Eversley? That has become a reality in the wake of the embarrassing Jaden Ivey ordeal.

If they make Eversley the scapegoat and just move on from him that would feel more than a bit cheap and a tough sell to the fan base, especially since the Sun-Times has reported that the front office has been more dictatorship than democracy as far as Karnisovas was concerned.

No, this would have to be an all or nothing proposition.

If Karnisovas and Eversley are out and Donovan walks, time is then the enemy in revamping the front office, especially with the draft lottery around the corner and the Bulls facing a huge offseason with the most cap room in the NBA.

If they want to go big-game hunting then former Warriors executive Bob Myers should be the first phone call.

That would be a tough get, especially since Dallas could also be in on Myers.

If the Reinsdorfs want to look at a familiar face and land an executive who is the complete opposite of Karnisovas as far as personality and transparency, then former Bulls forward and current Golden State GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. would be a perfect fit.