In a 29-minute audio-only Zoom call, Eversley time and again brought the focus back to the player. He referenced how this league is about the players, understanding their feelings and hardships, fostering their growth with a plan and enhanced resources and manpower on the developmental front.
“One of my mottos is ‘players first,’” Eversley said. “I think you have to create a players-first mentality.”
That wasn’t the reputation the Bulls carried for the better part of the last decade under the John Paxson-Gar Forman regime, which officially came to an end on April 13 when Paxson was reassigned to a largely ceremonial advisory role and Forman was unceremoniously fired.
From conflict with former MVP point guard Derrick Rose’s camp over the handling of Rose’s injuries and workload to taking issue with All-Star wing Jimmy Butler’s abrasive demeanor and shipping him out of town to green-lighting a midseason basketball boot camp when coach Jim Boylen was promoted, the Bulls were known more for an old-school, grit-first approach that has gone out of style than anything else. The Bulls also have long had one of the smallest front offices and scouting departments in the NBA.
Eversley, a Canadian who becomes the first black general manager in franchise history, intends to change all of that after winning over executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas in virtual meetings and calls over the past couple weeks.
“We were the second-youngest team in the NBA last year, and I really believe it starts with a foundation of player development,” he said. “True player development, that’s really when we can see what kind of players we have on our roster. I was surprised to find that there was one player development coach on the staff as I was doing my research for this job. That’s a helluva job for one person to take on.
“It’s going to be one of my tenants to try and figure out our player development system. There’s a lot of key areas within it – skill development, physical development, mental enhancement. But with that, you need to hire people to help support that. We’re going to do a pretty diligent job in terms of looking for the proper staff to bring in here to work with our young guys. But player development is going to be a tremendous focus for this organization moving forward.”
Eversley joins Chicago after spending the past four years in Philadelphia, where he most recently worked as the 76ers’ senior vice president of player personnel. In that role, he oversaw the 76ers' scouting department on the collegiate, NBA and international levels as well as played a key role in the organization's decision-making process and recruiting of players.
Eversley previously worked in the front office for the Wizards (2013-'16) and Raptors (2006-'13). And prior to that, he worked for Nike for 11 years, first in retail and then in the eye-opening role of a player relationship manager. It was in that position that Eversley laid the foundation for his NBA career, earned the trust of players and those around them and formed the motto he takes into this new job.
It’s all about the players.
“It was critical,” Eversley said of the influence his job at Nike had on him. “I’m still extremely close to a lot of the guys at Nike today. That really taught me the true value of connecting the dots – is what we used to say. Relationships move the needle in this business, and it really starts at the grassroots. I was fortunate enough to work at Nike at a time when LeBron James and players like that were coming up through the system. It really taught me the value of relationships.”
Eversley has now intersected with a global brand in the Bulls that has lost some shine in recent years. The Bulls have only made the playoffs once since 2015 and disappointed in going 22-43 in their third rebuilding season before the coronavirus pandemic halted this NBA season.
“It taught me the value of a brand, really,” Eversley said. “Nike is one of the most powerful brands in the world. To Arturas’ story (about the 1990s Bulls), back then the Bulls were one of the strongest brands in the NBA. It’s my hope that I can take some of the lessons that I’ve learned at Nike and implement them here with Chicago as a goal to get the Chicago Bulls back to relevancy and get that brand back to where it’s cool again and kids want to be part of it. That’s one of my goals for sure.”
Eversley’s addition didn’t come without a small dose of Bulls nostalgia. After extensive talks with Eversley, Karnisovas initially planned to offer him the job last Monday morning. But while watching “The Last Dance” documentary Sunday night that chronicled the 1997-’98 Bulls final championship season and breakup, Karnisovas became “so emotional” while viewing it that he decided to contact Eversley then and there.
Eversley had missed the first airing of the newest episodes and was watching the re-run. So Eversley accepted his new job with the Bulls as “The Last Dance” aired in the background, Karnisovas said.
“Everything starts and ends with winning,” Eversley said. “We need to focus our culture and mindset to be about excellence day in and day out. I’m so excited to start this chapter. For Bulls fans, hear me when I say it: Our ultimate goal is to bring an NBA championship back to the city of Chicago.”