Arturas Karnisovas felt that the armory had been well stocked.
While the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations preached “continuity’’ since watching his roster dismissed in the first round of the playoffs last April, he tweaked the depth with the additions of Goran Dragic, Andre Drummond, and drafting Dalen Terry.
“The approach was basically adding more talent, adding more depth,’’ Karnisovas said recently when discussing the 2022-23 outlook for his team. “We did retain 12 players from last year, added Andre Drummond and Goran and drafted Dalen, so we focused more on the depth and giving enough ammunition for [coach] Billy [Donovan] to operate and giving him enough guards and wings to be functional.’’
But not just “functional.’’
Karnisovas also had expectations.
He made that very clear, insisting that the next step had to be taken in at least getting into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
A pipe dream? Maybe, but so far this front office has earned the benefit of the doubt, cleaning up an inherited mess, as well as making the Bulls relevant again.
The Bulls have two All-Star players in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, a highly-respected coach in Donovan, and a new regime that has shown aggressiveness in not only the trade market, but in free agency.
All great traits … most seasons.
Then again, most seasons haven’t seen the East become such a minefield. From top to bottom there will be very few easy nights on the schedule, and that’s where Karnisovas & Co. may have made their first misstep.
Second-round expectations for a roster that has play-in-game reality.
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE NBA BOTTOM
5. Houston Rockets
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Indiana Pacers
2. Utah Jazz
1. San Antonio Spurs
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON
1. Milwaukee Bucks
2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Brooklyn Nets
5. Miami Heat
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
7. BULLS
8. Atlanta Hawks
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Bucks over Celtics in seven
ALL-EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
G – Trae Young – ATL
G – Donovan Mitchell – CLE
F – Kevin Durant – BRK
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo – MIL
C – Joel Embiid – PHI
ALL-EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
G – Darius Garland – CLE
G – LaMelo Ball – CHAR
F – Jimmy Butler – MIA
F – DeMar DeRozan – BULLS
C – Bam Adebayo – MIA
EASTERN CONFERENCE HONORS
MVP – Giannis Antetokounmpo – MIL
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tyrese Haliburton – IND
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Paolo Banchero – ORL
COACH OF THE YEAR – J.B. Bickerstaff – CLE
COACH ON THE HOT SEAT – Steve Nash – BRK
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER – Lonzo Ball - BULLS
MOST OVERRATED PLAYER – Kyrie Irving – BRK
BIG-NAME TRADE CANDIDATE – Myles Turner - IND
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Los Angeles Clippers
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Phoenix Suns
6. Los Angeles Lakers
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. New Orleans Pelicans
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Warriors over Clippers in seven
NBA FINALS
Warriors over Bucks in six
ALL-WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
G – Luka Doncic – DAL
G – Ja Morant – MEM
F – LeBron James – LAL
F – Kawhi Leonard – LAC
C – Nikola Jokic – DEN
ALL-WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
G – Damian Lillard – POR
G – Steph Curry – GS
F – Zion Williamson – NOR
F – Paul George – LAC
C – Anthony Davis – LAL
WESTERN CONFERENCE HONORS
MVP – Luka Doncic – DAL
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Anthony Edwards – MIN
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Keegan Murray – SAC
COACH OF THE YEAR – Tyronn Lue – LAC
COACH ON THE HOT SEAT – Darvin Ham – LAL
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER – Mikal Bridges – PHX
MOST OVERRATED PLAYER – Karl-Anthony Towns – MIN
BIG-NAME TRADE CANDIDATE – Russell Westbrook – LAL
