Woj: Arturas Karnisovas finalizing deal with Chicago Bulls as top executive

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Chicago Bulls are finalizing a deal with Denver Nuggets General Manager Arturas Karnisovas to become the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in the Bulls front office.

The Chicago Bulls are finalizing a deal with Denver Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to become the franchise’s new Executive VP of Basketball Operations, sources tell ESPN. Karnisovas will be tasked with hiring a new GM and reshaping the front office.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2020

The move is a promotion for Karnisovas, who joined the Nuggets prior to the 2013-14 season as an Assistant General Manager to the newly hired Tim Connelly. As the Nuggets improved during the last seven seasons of the Connelly-Karnisovas era, multiple teams tried to hire away both Connelly and Karnisovas to run their organizations. After Connelly received a promotion to become President of Basketball Operations, Karnisovas slid into the General Manager role, bringing his vast knowledge of basketball on NBA and international stages into a major decision making capacity.

Bulls offered the job to Karnisovas earlier this evening, and negotiated the details through the night, sources said. Karnisovas will leave Denver for Chicago after helping Tim Connelly and Josh Kroenke to rebuild the Nuggets into a Western Conference contender. https://t.co/HMtQ2OivGQ

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2020

The Nuggets front office is known around the league to be exceptional, and Karnisovas was a major contributor to the group of Connelly, Josh Kroenke, Assistant GM Calvin Booth, and the rest of the Basketball Operations staff. Karnisovas is respected around the league, and he will bring a lot to the table in helping the Bulls regain their image as a premier franchise.

For the Nuggets, Karnisovas’ exit will leave a major hole to hill. The aforementioned Calvin Booth is a ready-made candidate to step into a larger role within the organization, but very few people can match the level of basketball savvy, connections, and calculated decision making that Karnisovas did. How the Nuggets navigate their roster decisions going forward without Arturas in the room will be an interesting test for Connelly and Co. With the Nuggets trying to break through from good to legitimately great in a stacked Western Conference, they could use all of the experience and savvy they can get. Losing Karnisovas will definitely have an impact.