Chicago Bulls: 4 biggest winners from the Nikola Vucevic trade
By Duncan Smith
Chicago Bulls winner No. 4: Arturas Karnisovas
The Chicago Bulls had a quiet offseason, mostly making fringe moves and staying away from big splashes. While new top executives like Troy Weaver of the Detroit Pistons opted to conduct shock and awe campaigns in the offseason, Arturas Karnisovas kept it conservative. That all changed at the deadline when he made the trade for Vucevic and other trades for Troy Brown, Daniel Theis and Javonte Green.
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Karnisovas earned plenty of plaudits for firing previous head coach Jim Boylen, and he could live off those residuals for a while if need be. However, that’s not his plan, and he’s done well to commence making this team in his own image.
No. 3: Head coach Billy Donovan
After Karnisovas dismissed Boylen, Billy Donovan got the head coaching job for the Bulls. He departed the OKC Thunder of his own volition after that organization opted to rebuild, deciding he wanted to coach a winning program instead. It didn’t make much sense to choose the Bulls considering their lower-tier status for the last few years, but this trade for Vucevic puts them more in line with what he was likely looking for.
After coaching a surprising Thunder team to the playoffs last year, Donovan has the chance to do the same thing again with a Bulls team that looks quite a bit tougher now than it did before the NBA trade deadline.