Bulls team president Michael Reinsdorf wants boxes checked on next hire

WASHINGTON – The list was sitting right next to Michael Reinsdorf, itching to be read.

The Bulls’ team president was just waiting for someone to ask.

As his Tuesday Zoom meeting with the media was winding down, however, he decided to take it upon himself to go ahead and make his feelings known on what he will be looking for in his next choice for basketball operations executive.

A list that ended up revealing more than just job requirements.

“I want someone who is process-oriented,” Reinsdorf started off. “I think the biggest mistakes we have made over the years is we have not followed a process.”

Translation: Fired exec Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley had a plan of no plan. That was evident the last four seasons as they fooled themselves into running back mediocrity after mediocrity.

“Conviction: We need someone who is not afraid to pull the trigger,” Reinsdorf continued.

Translation: The Karnisovas regime and the end of the Gar/Pax regime was filled with too many roster spots with players the front office overrated and didn’t want to move off of in time.

“Communicator: We have a history at the Bulls at the top position other than Pax (John Paxson), they haven’t always been the best communicators going back to the days of Jerry Krause. It wasn’t one of Arturas’ strengths. I want someone who is really strong in communication. Not just internally within the organization. When talking to people like (the media), talking to our fans. I think that is really important in what we are trying to accomplish. What is the plan? Our fans have a right to understand what we are trying to accomplish.”

No translation needed and as honest as a billionaire owner could be about his shortcomings and the shortcomings of his franchise.

“We’ve talked about trends, three-point shooting, salary cap increases,” Reinsdorf said. “Back in 2015, 2016, clearly Golden State saw what was coming with the cap and where media (TV deals) were headed and saw ahead of time, ‘Hey, with the new TV deal coming up the cap will increase.’ And they go ahead and made decisions that allowed them to sign guys like Kevin Durant.”

Translation: The Bulls need to know when to strike and start being ahead of the league rather than chasing it.

“Talent: One of the things from a business standpoint I’m proud of what I’ve done, I’ve surrounded myself with really smart people … Whoever takes this role that person one day (will need to have a person under them just as smart).”

Translation: The days of a Gar Forman (the former GM) pitting people against each other and worrying about his own survival, and a Eversley, who hid in the weeds for far too many years, have ended. The front office needs to collectively be talented and unafraid.

“Basketball evaluator,” Reinsdorf said. “At the end of the day you have to get the players right.”

Translation: Marquis Teague should have never been drafted over Draymond Green and Patrick Williams shouldn’t have been selected over Tyrese Haliburton. The Bulls have to stop missing when the obvious stares them in the face. Sometimes a coach knows more than a suit when it comes to talent.

“Collaboration: The role you have, you have to work across scouting, development departments, analytics; you have to have that alignment,” he said.

Translation: You can’t always act like the smartest person in the room, talk down to people that don’t agree with the vision, and just flat-out fire people who challenge ideas more than once because they have the data and numbers to prove you’re wrong. Hello Steve Weinman – former Bulls analytics guru who didn’t agree with Karnisovas’ flawed roster building and was inevitably fired for it.

“Manager: There was a time you could hire a scout to (lead) basketball operations and you’d be fine,” Reinsdorf said. “Basketball operations now is so big. You need to understand how to manage and organize people.”

Translation: Yes, Karnisovas did build out a player development staff that was almost non-existent under Gar/Pax, but was that group properly managed and heard? Ask shooting guru Peter Patton, who was let go because he spoke his mind on players and their shortcomings. Evaluations that proved to be more right than wrong.

Was the Reinsdorf presser perfect? No, but it had some real moments that few owners would be willing to pull the curtain back on.

But the ultimate judge in all of this is what Reinsdorf does next. Otherwise, it was just a list of promises unfulfilled.