(670 The Score) In nearly a decade as Bulls team president, Michael Reinsdorf made his most lasting impression on me wearing a custom-made pair of red bedazzled tennis shoes for the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery.
They were so shiny, so out of character for Michael. They sparkled brightly under the chandelier lights at the Palmer House Hilton downtown, a much louder statement than anything I ever had heard out of the mouth of Jerry Reinsdorf’s understated son. Michael wore the shoes at the behest of his own son, but they proved to be more gaudy than lucky as the Bulls landed the No. 7 overall pick in the lottery. As I sat down to make deadline that night for the Chicago Tribune, I remember wondering sarcastically when Reinsdorf would do something as the top executive in the organization that involved more substance than style. That was a lazy opinion about an easy target, one I’m glad I never published. But the memory came to mind this week the more I thought about exactly how the Bulls embarked on this new direction after their most thorough organizational housecleaning since Phil Jackson left town on his Harley.
For the Bulls, this process was about marking
the arrival of new executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and
the removal of John Paxson and Gar Forman from their jobs but every bit as much about Michael Reinsdorf making his most indelible mark on the franchise. This was Michael exerting more power and influence than any of us really imagined after he became team president and chief operating officer on Sept. 13, 2010. This was the most significant move by a Michael in the Bulls organization since Jordan juked Bryon Russell almost 22 years ago. This was when the reality of being the Bulls president finally trumped the perception of merely being Jerry’s son. This was the moment Michael Reinsdorf found his footing, if you will, as the leader of the organization regardless of his footwear. It's fair to wonder what took so long. It’s also fine to say better late than never. When Paxson initiated his own ouster back in December by telling the Reinsdorfs the Bulls had become too set in their ways, Michael began researching teams with success based on continuity and executives with solid reputations. The conclusion Paxson reached about the Bulls hardly surprised Reinsdorf, who pays close attention to the perception of his team despite keeping a low profile.
Quietly, he knew the truth. He sensed the need for change. As the research project hit the All-Star break in Chicago, Karnisovas slowly emerged as a target, but the short list included five other names. Two of those six candidates were minorities employed by other NBA teams whom Reinsdorf was unable to interview – a detail he felt important to make to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago
in light of widespread criticism for not interviewing candidates of color for the top job. You can criticize the Reinsdorfs for not spending money or for being overly loyal, a familiar refrain in Chicago sports, and they will accept it as something that goes with the territory. But Reinsdorf wasn’t going to stand for being accused of running a professional sports team that wasn’t inclusive, not with the White Sox having employed minority managers Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen and Rick Renteria and an African-American top executive in Kenny Williams. Not when Karnisovas’ first move was
hiring an African-American assistant general manager in salary cap specialist J.J. Polk. Not when he could point to reality that countered the perception. The way Reinsdorf pushed back at the national and local mischaracterization simply underscored his newfound assertiveness in the role. It also revealed how badly he wants this to work under Karnisovas, whose opening Zoom teleconference provided a glimpse of the strong, clear leadership that impressed so many. On his first official day on the job, the man known as "AK" matter-of-factly stated that he fired Forman due to philosophical differences. He explained why he saw value in keeping Paxson and his institutional knowledge in the organization, a sign of someone secure in himself.
He tactfully promised nothing to coach Jim Boylen, who issued a statement welcoming Karnisovas that was as odd as one of Boylen’s last-minute timeouts. He committed to a draft-and-development plan that values multi-dimensional players with high basketball IQs, which bodes well for Lauri Markkanen – the organization’s biggest mystery worth solving. He embraced the tradition of the Bulls as a contemporary of Jordan and demonstrated a keen understanding of the city’s "robust" sports culture, which surely will thrill Chicago’s hearty Lithuanian community here. Without question, Karnisovas left little doubt he was up to the challenge. Not insignificantly, the same is true about the man who hired him.
