NBA Swing: Is There Hope for a Future After the Bulls Fire AKME?

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On Monday, the Chicago Bulls announced the firing of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas and General Manager Marc Eversley. The management duo, commonly referred to as “AKME,” was hired at the beginning of the 2020–21 season to replace Gar Forman and John Paxson. The pair managed the team behind the scenes for six seasons, finishing with a cumulative record of 224–254 at the time of their dismissal.

Following the move, the Bulls released a statement:

“Arturas and Marc have led with a deep commitment to the Chicago Bulls. These decisions are never easy, especially when they involve people we respect both personally and professionally. We are grateful for their dedication and the work they’ve put in over the past six years. At the same time, we have not had the success our fans deserve, and it’s my responsibility to go in a new direction. This move is about positioning our team for sustained success moving ahead.”

For the organization and fanbase, the hiring of Karnisovas and Eversley was initially seen as a step in the right direction after the failed “retools” of the previous regime. Karnisovas moved quickly, trading for All-Star center Nikola Vucevic late in the 2020–21 season and trading future All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen that summer. However, following that flurry of activity, the team famously went several years without making a single trade.

Karnisovas initially received credit for building a competitive roster in the summer of 2021 that featured Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso. But when Ball suffered a knee injury in early 2022—one that ultimately sidelined him for nearly three years—management refused to pivot. Instead, they relied on “band-aid” methods in an increasingly futile attempt to keep the core intact.

In his final two years, Karnisovas finally dismantled the roster, but the returns were widely panned. He traded Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey in the spring of 2024, sent DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings that summer, and traded LaVine to the Kings in 2025. Before the 2026 deadline, he also moved Vucevic to the Boston Celtics and traded fan favorites Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Despite moving nearly every significant asset, Karnisovas received zero first-round picks in return, other than regaining the rights to the Bulls’ own 2025 selection.

The front office was also heavily criticized for its draft record. Their first pick, Patrick Williams (4th overall in 2020), has averaged just 9.0 PPG and 3.8 RPG and is currently in the second year of a five-year, $90 million contract. Meanwhile, the 2021 pick traded for Vucevic became an All-Star, Franz Wagner. While they found a second-round steal in Dosunmu, other picks like Dalen Terry are no longer with the team. More recently, 2024 lottery pick Matas Buzelis has shown promise, but 2025 pick Noa Essengue played fewer than 10 minutes before undergoing season-ending surgery.

Throughout the six-season AKME era, the Bulls recorded just one winning season, one playoff appearance, and a single playoff game victory. The team will now miss the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.

As the organization pivots, the focus shifts to who will fill the management vacancies. Several names have already surfaced, including former Bulls Kyle Korver (current Hawks Assistant GM) and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (Warriors GM), as well as Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd, who previously spent 13 seasons in the Bulls’ front office.

The new leadership will also have to decide the fate of head coach Billy Donovan. Donovan, currently the third-longest tenured coach in the NBA, was recently linked to the University of North Carolina vacancy before that position was filled by former Nuggets coach Michael Malone. While the team will meet with Donovan after the season, Bulls President Michael Reinsdorf offered a strong public endorsement:

“Billy is a Hall of Fame coach who not only has my respect, but the entire organization’s and locker room’s. We will handle any conversations about the coaching staff as we do every year, after the season. I want it to be very clear: We want Billy to continue to be the coach of the Chicago Bulls.”

Reinsdorf noted that the organization is looking for a management candidate who is “sold” on Donovan, suggesting that those who aren’t may not be the right fit for the job. He further defended Donovan’s tenure, arguing the coach had performed well despite having limited control over the roster’s construction.

Whoever lands the role will inherit a nearly clean slate. The Bulls hold all of their own first-round picks through 2032, a lottery pick in the upcoming 2026 draft, and—per Spotrac—upwards of $60 million in cap space this summer. While a total turnaround won’t happen overnight, the Bulls are finally moving on from the failed AKME era.