The pope and a prayer isn’t a real plan, but it just might be the best one Arturas Karnisovas has at this point.
Heaven knows the current one isn’t working for the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations.
Apparently, so do a lot of people.
“I think the pope should be focusing on the Bulls because they’ve got the [draft] lottery,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters recently when discussing Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV and the focus of his fandom. “First pick in the lottery and getting [Duke standout] Cooper Flagg is what the pope should focus on for Chicago sports fans.”
It would be nice if someone in the city did because it definitely hasn’t been Karnisovas.
That’s why the Bulls will enter the Monday draft lottery with just a 1.7% chance of hitting No. 1 and 8% of landing in the top four, despite again missing the playoffs with yet another stumble in the play-in tournament.
That means likely no Flagg, no Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey, and if the numbers play out by the odds, not even promising big men like Khaman Maluach or Derik Queen who are expected to be off the board by No. 10.
If nothing breaks right for the Bulls they’re slotted in the No. 12 spot. Basically, when this loaded draft class takes a dip in talent.
The real gut-punch comes if one of the teams sitting in the No. 5-8 spots somehow defies lottery odds and moves into the No. 1 spot. That’s because realistically, that’s what the Bulls should have been aiming for, especially after the Zach LaVine trade deadline deal in early February.
The Bulls were sitting 8th from the bottom at that point, leaving them a 6% chance at Flagg and 26.3% chance at landing in the top four, but rather than do what the likes of Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Toronto did by putting more control on the wins and losses, Karnisovas fell on his sword of “competitive integrity” and felt it was more important for the roster to experience meaningful games in April rather than adding elite talent.
If Utah, Washington or Charlotte – who each have the best odds at No. 1 at 14% – hit and can capture the Flagg, no sweat because the Bulls were never going to be a bottom three team just from a talent standpoint. The scrutiny will come, however, in that 5-8 zip code.
Not the only scrutiny Karnisovas is currently under, either.
Besides refusing to tank in a loaded lottery class to try and add an elite superstar talent, the executive has shown no plans on how to land a face of the franchise moving forward.
Meanwhile, the NBA playoffs have been a reminder of what a difference top 10 drafted talent means. Of the 10 leading postseason scorers, six of them were selected in the top 10, while three were No. 1 overall picks.
Then factor in the late-game heroics of a Denver’s Aaron Gordon (No. 4 overall draft pick), and it’s more than an indictment of just how poorly this Bulls roster construction plan really is.
Karnisovas has made it clear that he believes building a roster out with depth one through 10 is the way to go, rather than what Boston has done with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (both No. 3 overall picks) or Cleveland with Evan Mobley and Darius Garland (both top 5 picks).
Another faulty way of thinking, as these playoffs have shown.
What has been on display through many of the postseason games is shorter rotations, the game slowing way down, and the physicality picking up.
Karnisovas is swimming upstream by trying to build a roster that has a deep rotation, plays with high pace, and is more finesse than foxhole.
Seemingly an exercise in futility. And maybe one that only prayers can help change at this point.
