Bulls reportedly target 6 candidates for president of basketball operations opening
Bulls reportedly target 6 candidates for president of basketball operations opening
Ian CasselberryMon, April 20, 2026 at 4:17 PM UTC
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The Chicago Bulls have begun their search for a new president of basketball operations with a preliminary list of candidates that the team has requested to interview, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
The six candidates the Bulls have received permission to interview are Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd, Detroit Pistons senior VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey, Atlanta Hawks senior VP of basketball ops Bryson Graham, Cleveland Cavaliers assistant GM Mike Gansey and San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Dave Telep.
Additionally, the Bulls are expected to include Austin Brown, the co-head of Creative Artists Agency’s basketball division in their search, according to Charania. Brown’s list of clients includes Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, the Hawks’ Nickeil Walker-Alexander and OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks.
Chicago is seeking a new top basketball executive to replace Artūras Karnišovas, who was fired shortly before the end of the regular season. General manager Marc Eversley was also dismissed, but the new president of basketball ops will presumably be in charge of hiring for that position. Both had held their jobs since 2020.
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Interviews are expected to begin this week, sources said, and the team is aiming to hire its new decision-maker just before or just after the mid-May draft combine. The NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 10.
The Bulls currently hold the No. 9 spot in the draft order with a 4.5% chance of winning the top selection. In his latest mock draft, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor projected Chicago selecting 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara with its pick.
In addition to determining their first-round draft pick, Chicago’s next president of basketball ops may have to decide who the team’s next head coach will be. Team president Michael Reinsdorf said that the Bulls want to retain Billy Donovan and has indicated that a willingness to keep him might be a determining factor in who gets chosen to lead basketball operations. However, Donovan may also decide to move on.
Donovan agreed to a multiyear contract extension after last season. He has coached the Bulls for six seasons, compiling a record of 226-256 that includes one NBA playoff berth in his second season (2021-22) that ended with a first-round defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Source: “AOL Sports”
