Bulls exec Arturas Karnisovas can change the narrative next three weeks

Billy Donovan isn’t going to stop trying to squeeze wins out of a stone.

The Bulls coach doesn’t know any other way.

The players aren’t going to stop trying to climb up in the standings. Veteran guard Kevin Huerter reiterated that last week when he said, “You gotta stick to what we’re supposed to do which is show up every day and try to win. That’s how it will always be as a player. All the other decisions are out of your hands.”

No, the importance of the next three weeks for this organization falls on the front office and executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, and all that’s at stake is his ability to try and turn around a narrative that this has been a failing regime.

Good luck.

First there’s the schedule with seven of the next 10 games against possible playoff teams, as well as two teams that have given the Bulls problems this season in Indiana and Milwaukee. Then there’s the buildup of emotion for next Saturday’s Derrick Rose Night in which the former MVP sees his jersey raised into the rafters, a reminder of how much the hometown kid meant to his city and the franchise.

Both important to note, but also diversions on the main stage compared to what really matters – the business taking place backstage leading to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

As the Sun-Times reported several times in the last month, Karnisovas has been as active as he’s been since the 2021 roster flip, looking to move off several of his six pending free agents, as well as trying to add pieces that fit the makeup of the Bulls roster.

There was a report that the Bulls have had ongoing talks with sinking New Orleans on players anywhere from Zion Williamson to center Yves Missi, and the newspaper has confirmed that.

While the Williamson chatter has quieted on the Pelicans’ end, Missi’s name has been growing momentum. The problem is at what cost?

New Orleans is operating in the first apron, has been trying to get back the unprotected 2026 first round draft pick it gift-wrapped to Atlanta for the Derik Queen trade, and would also love to pass on a bad contract like Jordan Poole’s.

Yes, Missi has lost minutes from his rookie season, going from 26.8 per game last year to now 18.6, but he’s still a solid rim runner with the potential to be an elite rim protector. In other words, New Orleans would move him but they’re not going to just give him away.

That’s’ why getting a deal done is tricky waters to navigate, especially because what the Bulls are definitely not looking to do is give away draft assets in a deal.

New Orleans would have to want to be in a scorched earth tank mentality and put together a Williamson-Missi package for expiring contracts like Nikola Vucevic and Coby White, with a Jalen Smith sweetener, and all indications are Williamson – headaches, injuries and all – is currently off the table.

The other trade partner for the Bulls to keep an eye on is a familiar one this season in the Timberwolves. Minnesota does have the likes of star Anthony Edwards and his supporting cast of Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid locked up for at least the next three seasons but have been shopping for a combo guard to play off of Edwards, especially in the fourth quarter of games.

The Sun-Times reported in early December that the two teams talked about a Coby White deal, but there have also been inquiries about Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones as well.

Either way, Karnisovas has a complicated course to maneuver, and the next three weeks will either change his reputation as a failing executive or cement it.