The Chicago Bulls are pursuing their first-ever African American GM in franchise history for the 2020-2021 NBA season.
According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, the Bulls’ new front office brass are expected to hire a high-ranking minority executive for their GM position after receiving heavy criticism last week during their search for a top-of-the-line executive for their Vice President of Basketball Operations. This search ended with a group of all-white candidates, which prompted criticism of the franchise because there were no Black candidates in the running.
Miami Heat Vice President Adam Simon, Toronto Raptors GM Bobby Webster, Indiana Pacers GM Chad Buchanan, Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik, and former NBA GMs Danny Ferry, Bryan Colangelo, and Wes Wilcox were among the other men that Arturas Karnisovas beat out for the position.
Besides Webster, whose mother is Japanese American, all the above are white men, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
According to Goodwill, Michael Reinsdorf, the son of owner Jerry Reinsdorf, spearheaded the hiring of Karnisovas, after the franchise was denied permission to interview Oklahoma City Thunder Vice President of Basketball Operations Troy Weaver, who is African American.
In addition to the Bulls organization’s latest hire, the following eight African American candidates may possibly be considered to fill the team’s GM role:
Chicago’s very own Michael Finley of the Dallas Mavericks (a two-time NBA All-Star), Troy Weaver of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milt Newton of the Milwaukee Bucks (who helped produce top NBA talent and multiple playoff teams), and Calvin Booth of the Denver Nuggets (who currently has the Nuggets competing).
Other possible candidates include former New Orleans Pelicans GM Dell Demps, Mark Eversley of the Philadelphia 76ers, Mark Hughes of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Matt Lloyd of the Orlando Magic.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
