What’s next for Arturas Karnisovas’ Chicago Bulls?

3. Decide Jim Boylen’s fate

For some Chicago Bulls fans, deciding the future of the current head coach is a fairly simple decision. The results of Jim Boylen’s tenure (39-84) haven’t exactly endured him to Bulls fans and his bizarre coaching decisions have confused everyone, including his own players.

Karnisovas, Chicago’s new boss, gets to decide the fate of the embattled coach and on the surface, there seems to be little reason for Boylen to return to the Bulls’ sideline, as much as Boylen may desire for that to happen. Sure, he was tasked with developing the team’s young roster – of which that development is still greatly in question – but the playoffs were still the goal when the season tipped off.

If the team was even remotely close to achieving that goal, we likely wouldn’t be witnessing the dramatic reshaping of the front office that we’re now privy too.

As far as player development goes, there’s been little progress there either. Lauri Markkanen has severely repressed this season, Denzel Valentine has been in and out of Boylen’s doghouse and Chandler Hutchison has rarely been healthy enough to see consistent minutes, though that’s no fault of Boylen’s.

Usually, a new regime prefers to bring in their own people as part of an overall franchise makeover. In rare cases, the head coach could be retained during an evaluation period. We know that Bulls chairman Michael Reinsdorf has supported Boylen in the past but it’s unlikely Karnisovas would have taken on this project without assurances he could pick his own staff, including who is roaming the sideline.

Of course, the 2019-20 NBA season is on hiatus with no assurances of its conclusion. The Chicago Bulls new front office may decide to wait until there is more clarification regarding the fate of the season or they may already have a plan of action ready to implement. Either way, determining Boylen’s future is one of the more important short-term goals.