After his shockingly (semi) competent firing of both team president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on Monday, Chicago Bulls acting owner and COO Michael Reinsdorf chopped it up with Bulls beat reporters on Tuesday afternoon in a lively press conference.
The conversation included some fascinating sound bites that may have given fans real insight into his process — although it also feels like he was thoroughly prepped. He sprinkled in fan service from the jump, opening with an apology and reiterating that he’s acutely aware of the criticisms.
Some of this may just be lip service, though, as most of us have been calling for AKME’s jobs for the last two years, at least.
Michael Reinsdorf Presser Highlights – Quick Takes
The Bulls allegedly intend to hire a search firm as they look to replace their front office leadership. Whether or not this is the right approach remains to be seen. Stephen Noh of The Sporting News, a great NBA mind, is skeptical. There was a surprising emphasis (to this Bulls fan, anyway) on cultivating a “sustainable” Bulls roster — a team that could win long-term, and wasn’t just a quick-fix band-aid of vets. Reinsdorf specifically cited AKME’s lone “successful” season in 2021-22, when they surrendered future draft equity and eventual All-Star Lauri Markkanen for a 46-win team that got ousted in the first round of the playoffs. “Was it a championship-caliber team? No,” Reinsdorf conceded. It truly felt like some PR team prepped him. My Bleacher Nation colleague Josh Miranda thinks Reinsdorf at least combed through Bulls Twitter. This is great to hear, though, that’s exactly what we want him to say. He has no obligation to defend that terrible ex-front office. Reinsdorf seems to be all-in on retaining current head coach Billy Donovan, noting that he’s a Hall of Famer, and apparently giving him the right of first refusal when it comes to whether or not he holds onto the gig. Reinsdorf is open to Donovan stepping into a front office role, but doesn’t think that’s where Donovan wants to be. Reinsdorf did mention, however, that he wants Donovan to become a more proactive voice in roster construction decisions, regardless of whether or not the coach assumes a supplemental new title. When it comes to Reinsdorf’s reputation as a hands-off owner, he was refreshingly candid. Or, at least, gave us the answer we wanted to hear, shouldering some of the blame for clinging to this awful front office way longer than was necessary.“I have to hold myself accountable, too,” Reinsdorf said. “We do give a lot of autonomy to our people, but that doesn’t mean they can make any decision they want.”
When asked which front office he most wants to emulate, Reinsdorf chuckled, “I wanna be like Oklahoma City.” He believes longtime Thunder president/GM Sam Presti is “the best general manager in basketball,” which is absolutely the correct answer. Given that we specifically added Presti at the very top of our vision board earlier today, we hope his words lead to actions and that he writes Presti a blank check to jump ship. When it comes to finding a replacement for Karnisovas specifically, Reinsdorf emphasized that he is seeking a good communicator. He specifically ripped Hall of Fame Bulls GM Jerry Krause and Karnisovas as being poor communicators with the media during their respective tenures. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images In terms of ditching AKME, Reinsdorf claimed he started thinking about “how we were gonna get out of this mess” a few months ago. He weirdly “credited” Karnisovas for making those terrible Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu trades that probably began bringing the Bulls’ plight to national attention. Although Reinsdorf observes that Chicago acquired second-round picks back, one has to wonder why the Bulls didn’t actually trade them sooner, when they could have gotten more value back. Hilariously, Reinsdorf called injured rookie lottery pick forward Noa Essengue in ’26-’27 “basically a second top-10 pick.” Remember, Essengue (was the No. 12 pick last year, in a weaker draft than this summer’s) struggled so much that he couldn’t get on the floor for Donovan’s non-playoff Bulls even before he suffered a season-ending injury. The Bulls also allegedly could have moved the raw, too-skinny Frenchman for the New Orleans Pelicans’ unprotected pick in 2026, which Atlanta got when the Hawks flipped the rights to draft Derik Queen to Joe Dumars during last year’s draft. Although it was widely reported that Chicago had signed Karnisovas and Eversley to contract extensions, Reinsdorf indicated that “it’s just not true,” and then reasserted the team’s longstanding approach to never discuss contract particulars. He can say what he wants right now, but it’s worth mentioning that longtime Bulls beat reporter K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network announced the extensions last summer.Hence then, the article about michael reinsdorf shreds akme praises billy in surprising bulls press conference was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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