Reinsdorf Defends Bulls' Search After Criticism

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(670 The Score) Bulls chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf on Friday defended his search process for a new head of basketball operations as inclusive, two days after black executives anonymously criticized the organization for a lack of diversity in the process in an article published on The Undefeated.

Reinsdorf had a list of six finalists for the lead basketball executive position, and two were minority candidates, he told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls were denied permission to speak with both candidates, Reinsdorf said.

While it's not official yet, the Bulls on Wednesday agreed to a deal with Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas, a white Lithuanian.

"To have the Chicago Bulls put in the light that we are a racist organization, it hurts," Reinsdorf told NBC Sports Chicago. "And what it means is people don’t understand how we operate or the process we went through to hire our head of basketball operations,” Reinsdorf said. “Diversity is incredibly important to me. It’s incredibly important to our organization. It’s something that we pay attention to every day. Every time we go through a hiring process on the business side or the basketball side, we include diverse candidates. Every time.

"We do that because it’s smart. The only way you can have diversity of thought is by having diverse people in our organization."

After being rebuffed by several candidates, Reinsdorf chose not to expand his list of finalists because he felt that would be "disingenuous," he told NBC Sports Chicago.

On Friday, news broke that the Bulls will hire J.J. Polk away from the Pelicans and name him an assistant general manager. Polk is black.

Several of the Bulls' targeted candidates to become their general manager are minorities, according to multiple reports.

White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams, who's black, defended the Reinsdorf family, which owns both teams.

"Anyone who works for a Reinsdorf understands that not having inclusivity and diversity isn’t an option," he said. "Their hiring practices always give everyone an opportunity to prove their merit."