Arturas Karnisovas says Bulls in transition, but 'more to come' - ESPN

CHICAGO — Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas acknowledged the team is «in a transitional phase,» and although he did not make any additional moves after trading Zach LaVine earlier this week, he pledged to continue reshaping the roster in the coming months.

«There's more to come,» Karnisovas said at a news conference after Thursday's trade deadline. «We're committing to building a sustainable, competitive team. We're not OK with being in the middle. Curating a team that competes at the high level and can compete for a championship has been our goal.»

In Karnisovas' first in-season trade in more than three years, the Bulls sent LaVine to Sacramento as part of a three-team deal Sunday and netted back three role players and control of their 2025 first-round draft pick, which had been owned by San Antonio (top-10 protected). But that was their lone transaction before the deadline.

The Bulls were engaged with the Warriors on a deal for Nikola Vucevic over the past few days, sources told ESPN, but Chicago never received a concrete offer before the deadline once Golden State completed the deal for Jimmy Butler on Wednesday night. Vucevic, 34, is in the middle of a career shooting season, posting a career-high 54.6% from the field and 40% from 3-point range, and is averaging 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds. He will be in the final season of his contract in 2025-26.

The Bulls also engaged in trade talks for guard Coby White, sources said, as Chicago looked to break up its logjam in the backcourt with six guards on the roster. White, Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball were holdovers on the roster, and the team acquired guards Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones in the deal for LaVine.

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