Arturas Karnisovas can be accused of a lot of shortcomings in his six seasons as Bulls lead suit.<\/p>\n
One thing the executive vice president of basketball operations can\u2019t be labeled, however, is a liar.<\/p>\n
So when Karnisovas continues promising that tanking is not in the organization\u2019s vocabulary, go ahead and book it.<\/p>\n
Just in case further evidence is needed of that point just look back on how the business of basketball was handled last season. With a generational talent like Cooper Flagg headlining a very talented draft class, Karnisovas was beating the drum of \u201ccompetitive integrity.\u201d A stance that once again earned the Bulls a free trip to the play-in tournament, only to once again see any hopes of the postseason dashed by the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n
Memo to Karnisovas just in case: The 2026 draft class is equally as loaded.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Kansas-bound Darryn Peterson, who has drawn comparisons to being very Kobe-like in his offensive game. Or AJ Dybantsa and his 7-foot wingspan at the small forward spot. Don\u2019t forget a last name the Bulls know very well, Cameron Boozer \u2013 son of one-time Bulls forward Carlos Boozer.<\/p>\n
All have a chance to change a franchise around. All are nothing more than pipedreams for Bulls fans.<\/p>\n
While the 2025-26 Bulls have a feel of the same old, same old, what isn\u2019t the same is the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
Achilles injuries to both Boston\u2019s Jayson Tatum and Indiana\u2019s Tyrese Haliburton have changed the immediate fortunes of those two organizations, while injury questions continue looming over a talented Philadelphia roster.<\/p>\n
In a league where no one feels sorry for the problems of others, the Bulls should benefit from all of the surrounding turmoil.<\/p>\n
What could that mean in the big picture?<\/p>\n
If everything goes as planned for Karnisovas and his Bulls roster, how about a trip to the postseason with no play-in game needed?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the reality that is staring the Bulls in the face this season, and that\u2019s no lie.<\/p>\n
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE NBA BOTTOM<\/p>\n
5. New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n
4. Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n
3. Washington Wizards<\/p>\n
2. Utah Jazz<\/p>\n
1. Brooklyn Nets<\/p>\n
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS<\/p>\n
1. Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n
2. Orlando Magic<\/p>\n
3. New York Knicks<\/p>\n
4. Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n
5. Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n
6. BULLS<\/p>\n
7. Miami Heat<\/p>\n
8. Boston Celtics<\/p>\n
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS<\/p>\n
Cavs over Magic in six<\/p>\n
ALL-EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Jalen Brunson, Knicks<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Donovan Mitchell, Cavs<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Jaylen Brown, Celtics<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks<\/p>\n
C \u2013 Joel Embiid, 76ers<\/p>\n
ALL-EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Cade Cunningham, Pistons<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Tyrese Maxey, Sixers<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Paolo Banchero, Magic<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Evan Mobley, Cavs<\/p>\n
C \u2013 Bam Adebayo, Heat<\/p>\n
EASTERN CONFERENCE HONORS<\/p>\n
MVP<\/p>\n
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks<\/p>\n
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Matas Buzelis, BULLS<\/p>\n
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR<\/p>\n
Kon Knueppel, Hornets<\/p>\n
COACH OF THE YEAR<\/p>\n
Jamahl Mosley, Magic<\/p>\n
COACH ON THE HOT SEAT<\/p>\n
Mike Brown, Knicks<\/p>\n
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Payton Pritchard, Celtics<\/p>\n
MOST OVERRATED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks<\/p>\n
BIG-NAME TRADE CANDIDATE<\/p>\n
Nikola Vucevic, BULLS<\/p>\n
PREDICTED ORDER OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS<\/p>\n
1. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n
2. Houston Rockets<\/p>\n
3. Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n
4. Golden State Warriors<\/p>\n
5. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/p>\n
6. Los Angeles Clippers<\/p>\n
7. San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n
8. Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS<\/p>\n
Thunder over Rockets in seven<\/p>\n
NBA FINALS<\/p>\n
Thunder over Cavs in five<\/p>\n
ALL-WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Luka Doncic, Lakers<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder<\/p>\n
F \u2013 LeBron James, Lakers<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Anthony Davis, Mavericks<\/p>\n
C \u2013 Nikola Jokic, Nuggets<\/p>\n
ALL-WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Steph Curry, Warriors<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Kawhi Leonard, Clippers<\/p>\n
F \u2013 Kevin Durant, Rockets<\/p>\n
C \u2013 Victor Wembanyama, Spurs<\/p>\n
WESTERN CONFERENCE HONORS<\/p>\n
MVP<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic, Mavericks<\/p>\n
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Amen Thompson, Rockets<\/p>\n
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR<\/p>\n
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks<\/p>\n
COACH OF THE YEAR<\/p>\n
Ime Udoka, Rockets<\/p>\n
COACH ON THE HOT SEAT<\/p>\n
JJ Redick, Lakers<\/p>\n
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Jalen Williams, Thunder<\/p>\n
MOST OVERRATED PLAYER<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves, Lakers<\/p>\n
BIG-NAME TRADE CANDIDATE<\/p>\n
Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arturas Karnisovas can be accused of a lot of shortcomings in his six seasons as Bulls lead suit.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-225943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}