Bulls Fire Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley

The Chicago Bulls have dismissed executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday. Bulls CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf made the decision with the team sitting at 29-49 and six games remaining in the regular season.

The firings come less than 48 hours after the Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley reported that "everything is on the table" for the Reinsdorf family, and two days after Brian Windhorst said on ESPN's Hoop Collective podcast that he didn't know who would still have their jobs in Chicago by the end of this week.

A Six-Year Run Defined by the Middle

Karnisovas was hired from Denver's front office in April 2020 to replace the GarPax regime. His first move was hiring Eversley as general manager — the first Black GM in franchise history. Together, they went 224-254 with one playoff appearance: a first-round exit to Milwaukee in 2022.

The Bulls missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive year in 2025-26 — the eighth time in nine seasons overall. Chicago never finished higher than the play-in tournament under Karnisovas' leadership and was officially eliminated from playoff contention on March 27.

Karnisovas' draft record was a central point of criticism. He selected Patrick Williams fourth overall in 2020 — passing on Tyrese Haliburton — then signed Williams to a five-year, $90 million extension despite minimal development. The Dalen Terry pick at No. 18 in 2022 was another miss; Terry was dealt to New York at this year's deadline. The selection of Matas Buzelis in 2024 has been a bright spot, with the sophomore forward emerging as the team's best young player.

Ayo Dosunmu was another tough loss in a tenure marred by them. The Chicago native and former Illinois standout was a second-round gem who developed into a fan favorite and a career-best performer this season before being shipped to Minnesota at the deadline for Rob Dillingham and four second-round picks. Dosunmu has thrived since the trade, averaging 17 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds over his last 10 games with the Timberwolves.

The Deadline and the Breaking Point

Karnisovas made seven trades at the February deadline, shipping out Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, and Dalen Terry. He acquired nine second-round picks but zero first-rounders — a jarring pivot for an executive who had publicly dismissed the value of second-round picks just weeks earlier. He called the teardown a "stage," not a rebuild.

The Jaden Ivey acquisition proved to be the final accelerant. Karnisovas brought in the former No. 5 overall pick from Detroit without, according to multiple reports, adequate background research. Ivey played four games before the Bulls waived him for conduct detrimental to the team following anti-LGBTQ+ comments on social media. The fallout was a national embarrassment for the organization and, per Cowley's reporting, the incident that pushed ownership from patience to action.

Meanwhile, players dealt away continued to thrive elsewhere. Dosunmu has averaged 17 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds over his last 10 games with Minnesota. Ousmane Dieng — acquired from Phoenix at the deadline and immediately flipped to Milwaukee for Nick Richards — recently posted a 36-point, 10-assist game for the Bucks.

What Comes Next

The most immediate question is Billy Donovan. The head coach has been heavily linked to the North Carolina coaching vacancy, and Cowley reported last week that Donovan would likely walk if Karnisovas remained. With Karnisovas now gone, that calculus shifts. Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that the Bulls hope to retain Donovan and potentially give him a voice in selecting new front office leadership. Donovan has said he will not entertain outside conversations until after the season finale on April 12.

If Donovan departs, assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. — who is under contract through next season — is the most likely internal replacement.

On the executive side, former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers and current Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. (a former Bull) have been mentioned as top targets. The job carries significant appeal: Chicago will have the most salary cap space in the NBA this summer, a near-certain top-10 draft pick with a 20 percent chance at a top-four selection, and a young core headlined by Buzelis and Josh Giddey.

Four games remain in the regular season. The Bulls host Washington for back-to-back games on Tuesday and Thursday before hosting Orlando on Friday and closing at Dallas on Sunday. But the real offseason — the one that will define this franchise for the next decade — started today.

This is a developing story. Lakefront Sports will continue to update as more details emerge.

Sources: ESPN (Shams Charania), Chicago Sun-Times (Joe Cowley), The Stein Line (Marc Stein), ESPN Hoop Collective (Brian Windhorst), Sports Illustrated