Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - What did we learn from Arturas Karnisovas’ post-trade deadline address?

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote shared their takeaways from Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas' media session discussing the organization's direction after a flurry of activity ahead of the trade deadline.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, midday's 10 to 2 on 104 3 The Score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104, 3, the score. We're still on 670. We didn't abandon anybody, at least not intentionally. I don't know. If somebody is abandoned, let us know. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what to make of the Bulls Press conference yesterday after a flurry of trade deadline moves,

where gone is Kobe White, gone is Iodosum, gone is Nikola Vujovic. and they got nine second round picks, along with a ton of guards, and many of them on expiring contracts, Jaden Ivy, Anthony Simons, for example, and trying to figure out what direction the team is going in, and if it's still the search for the nine or ten good players, like Arturis Karasov has talked about, at last year's trade deadline,

or if this is him trying to pivot and finally accepting a different path, and I don't know that I know yet. I'm very happy that, as he said, to start things up, that they're not satisfied with being in the middle. I don't think that we can overstate the importance of saying that because it sure felt like they were pretty satisfied to be in the middle. Or at best, at best, even at the peak of Damar de Rosen and Zach Levine,

at best, what a team that could win a playoff series, maybe, and they obviously didn't because they lost a playoff series to Milwaukee. So I do think it's really important that they accepted that because we didn't think they were to do that, Leila. We ripped out, I'll just say I did, saying that, well, this is the plan that they sold their bosses. They're not going to pivot. Marshall and I were saying that the Friday that you weren't here. They're not going to pivot.

There's no way they're going to pivot. And they did. So we do have to celebrate that a little bit. You do. I mean, I was never, I never subscribed. and you know this if you think about it like you'd find the tape I'd never subscribe to the building is full theory therefore they're happy or the they just want to make the play in I think they thought that they were trying to do something without the first round picks like that's what I thought I just

thought that they they value young players with experience and Arturis Karnas Charnasovas doubled down on that yet again you know you can tell in their actions that that's the case so that that that was still a priority, but, you know, they haven't signed a massive free agents to come here. We were talking about this yesterday a little bit, too. So did the plan change at all? Here was his opening statement where he mentions that the play-in, Mark Rody is not good enough. So let's digest this together because here's how he addressed the media to start. When we approached trade deadline this year, we were focused on three things.

First one is where we are and where we're going. The plane is not our goal. A championship is. We know where we are in standings and we are not satisfied with being in the middle. As an organization or for our fans. At the same time, we are committed to building the right way without skipping steps.

This process takes time, but we've already made meaningful shift in how we're approaching roster building. and development. This process takes time. It's my responsibility to make this better and to move the organization towards something sustainable at the highest level. Number two would be building around experience youth and new mix of players. We are adding experience youth alongside Josh, Matas, ICE, Noah, Jaylen, we are intentional about surrounding these core pieces with players who have real NBA experience along with upcoming draft picks. Pieces, we believe, can grow together over time.

Evaluating long-term fits. And the last, but not least, obviously, financial flexibility and draft capital, we've maintained sustained flexibility heading into the off-season. That gives us real options, whether that's free agency, trades, the draft, or continuing investment in development. Flexibility allows us to be patient, but also decisive when the right opportunity presents itself. I believe you cannot have too many draft picks in terms of how you can operate for the future. Billy and his staff have done an excellent job keeping this group prepared and competitive. I trust him completely.

We are aligned and the players are bought in. Everything we are doing is tied to building something meaningful towards the long term. Okay. So that's what you heard. Arturis Karashev has also said he doesn't want to use the word rebuild. And I'm not quite sure why. I don't know when it became not okay to use the word rebuild. Like Ryan Poles did the same thing.

He said, I don't want to call this a rebuild. Why? It's a harsh word. But, but okay, like. We'll use the word. The Bears were in a rebuild when Ryan Bulls talked about. I wish he would have said it because that would have made it make a lot more sense. Arturis called it a stage.

And he doesn't want to use the word rebuild either. And I think if there's one thing people understand and will get behind is the concept of a rebuild because then you've given all of us marching orders. You told us what you're doing. Okay. Take it on the chin. but if you love basketball or you love football or you love whatever sport you want to watch

there's still always a reason to go to a game like you want to see how somebody performs you and I were watching Mac MacLung very intently last night we wanted to see if there were going to be some dunks there was a lob tamadas I was very happy to see that Kawamura behind the back pass how'd you get Kamara how'd you end up in the post

oh can you throw up a lob there's always a reason to go always and I say all of that knowing that maybe maybe you can't For whatever reason you think you can't give us the harsh truth about all of this. But via the actions that were taken, what I see you doing is, number one, it is a change that

you decided to get something for your expiring deals. Famously, two first round picks were on the table, or not first round, my word, two second round picks were on the table for Andre Drummond. Andre Drummond left anyway. Bulls on and be a free agent. They didn't take advantage of that trade in those assets. he walked and they didn't get anything for him. So that is a change from the actions that they have taken previously. But in the meantime, you're also just renting players to see if this group is going to work together in a way that makes it make sense.

You could have kept Iyo. You could have probably gotten a first rounder for him. I know for a fact you could have gotten a first rounder for Caruso. If Nikola Vucovich was a year earlier in this trade discussion, even two years earlier, could you have gotten a first rounder for him? And that's where the hard part comes in. But then the other hard part of this is you trade away Dale and Terry, who is one of your first rounders. He was number 18.

You have Noah Essingay, who is a project. I mean, that's it. He's a project. Absolutely. You know, Patrick Williams, you drafted at four. He's in the second year of a five-year, 90 million deal, and he can't start for your team. Maybe he does now. But your drafting hasn't been as sound as you'd want either.

And one of the guys that you drafted well and developed well just left the bill. and didn't at you a first in return. So I feel like there are some contradictions that are happening within the direction of what they want to do. I really believed, and maybe you didn't, but I did believe. And some of it was even based on face-to-face conversations that we all had when we were in the suite last year with our Taurus, Karnas Chauvis and Mark Eversley, which was absolutely lovely, lovely gentlemen.

Yeah, they wanted to tell us what they wanted to do. And it felt like that their core, that what they wanted to build around going forward was Modis Buzellis, Kobe White, and Josh Giddy. Those would be the key parts, the players around whom the Bulls would build. That's why I am happy. Like that's why I do think they took a turn that they didn't expect to take. I believe that that's what their core, what they thought it was going to be. I also believe that tons of pressure mounted on the Bulls, dare I even say, from the puck. with everybody thinking that the Bulls are just good enough to get into the playoffs or just not advance in them.

So I am happy that they did that. Where I agree with everybody else, though, is now you've got this opportunity, and you do. You've got real options. You've got free agents. You have money that you could pay. You have players that might work out. Are those two guys, Arturis Karna Shovas and Mark Eversley, the guys that can take that flexibility, take the clay and molded into something special as opposed to something

middling, which building around Bezellus, White, and Giddy would have been. Well, here's the other thing. Did they have to be convinced? Or did their boss have to be convinced? I think the boss had to be convinced, right? Was it ownership who had to be convinced? But in all of this, in you trying to find your night or ten guys, who I don't think they backed off of that idea, you're also...

woefully without a front court here. What about Patrick Williams? Your four and your five are up in the air right now. Your three is modest. Congratulations. You know Giddy gets back. Okay, that's an answer. We know Giddy's injured.

He's being re-evaluated. So outside of that, you still don't necessarily, you may want to develop some of these players or you may want to kick the tires on some of these guys. And the three biggest money guys are the ones who have the expiring deals that you've acquired. that you're going to have to figure out whether or not they fit your team. But it contradicts itself a bit when I don't know if there is faithful in their draft process,

you know, knowing the results that have happened recently. And then in addition, you're hoping for something to happen in free agency. Joe Cowley appropriately asked the question about now second round picks are currency to you. I mentioned Andre Drummond. So what changed for him? You kind of smacked around the idea of second round picks for the last three or four years saying they are not good currency. And now you have like 30 of them. So what change there?

Well, you know, second round picks are currency in our industry and you cannot operate and acquire players and trade players. And I think, you know, we addressed it during the trade deadline. And, you know, hopefully they're going to contribute to, you know, Our, you know, doing the draft, doing free agency and trying to build this team. Joe, man, sledgehammer with that contrast. Slapped him around. Just well done. He gave him a good beating every year.

But the two function, honestly, and I think that that is pretty great. Absolutely. I just feel like Arturis is just walking around and collecting stuff. I'll take some of that. Like he's at Costco, just getting. huge portions of things. He's not really sure what he's getting. There's quantity. There's a, there's big time quantity here with even the players that they now, that we watched last night with the players that could be

coming via some of the second round picks with all the second round picks, with all of it. He's just, he is stacking and packing. We just don't know if he's the right guy to make the moves now. Well, and he also talked about Arturis Kurnasov has talked about how they don't have a lot of time to figure out with so many players on expiring deals, how this is going to work together. 29 games now? But here's my issue.

I don't know how any of this is going to work together if you don't know who your five is, and respectfully you're four. So what do you do in there? Like, that's it. And is that where your free agency comes in? Are you hoping to sign a big free agent? Are you hoping to trade for one?

And I applaud that they are trying to get as many assets as possible because I don't know that that was the way of the world for them previously, and it is the way of the rest of the association. Did you see Gershon Yabusheli in his 15 points and 11 rebounds last night? Yeah. Yeah. Yabuselli was in, he was a bit locked where he was. And that seems to be very much a focus of the Bulls is if you don't get as many minutes on a team that's better,

whether it be Jaden Ivy with the pistons or in this case, Yaviselli. And you want to come here and we'll give you a chance to see who you can be. That's what's going on right now. I just snacked around. There's just so many points to this that I think could could in a way contradict themselves, but it is okay to say this is a rebuild. And if you need to kick the tires on some of these guys to see, picking up expiring deals for others,

I just think again, somewhere in there is probably a first rounder, but that time has passed. Oh, man. Yeah, you know what? You're right. Just one somewhere in there. That isn't your own. That you used for NOAA S&A, a huge project.

Exactly. Just out of all of that, like just one to back us off of this theme. Like that you're breaking it down, but one would have been nice. Well, and in the meantime, it's okay to call it a rebuild. I think there are a lot of people who would embrace the Bulls actually trying to rebuild. Dare I say even tank. I don't remember the last. I know.

Tank is crazy. You can't go to tank. Yeah, a tank. that's another stuff. Take is not for the week. So the term that Ryan Poles used was remodel or construction. Yeah, I was just trying to think. The term is your wide receiver room was dudes like Byron Pringle and McHerringle.

And that's my point here. Like, you can call it whatever you want. Valis Jones. But you've told us who your receivers are. Valis Jones was a third round pick for the Bears. Valis Jones might get a Super Bowl ring. He might get a Super Bowl ring and all the riches. that come from. I don't know if any

GM or you know, you get a little extra check. Playoff bonus and all that. That's real stuff that the players. It is. That is some game changing money for them. Absolutely. Some guys get it. So like if the player was cut. I just remember this from being on the Cubs circuit when they won

the World Series. The playoffs shares for the Cubs are a huge deal. It was like, hey, this guy didn't play. You know, the Phil Koch get a playoff share. You know, the guys that are on the team early in the seed is Edward Jackson because he was just here and now he's gone. Do we slip him a check?

Yeah, because he's Edwin Jackson. Probably. Edwin Jackson is baseball. But every single team gave him a check. Does he need more checks? I mean, that's what you get for moving all the time. How many teams did he end up playing for? I mean, literally, 16 or 17 teams, something like that.

So was it Jesse Chavez who passed him? Did he finally pass Edwin Jackson? We'll look that up in the break. In the meantime, I said I think Valis Jones might be getting a Super Bowl ring. He's on the Seahawks. But my opinion isn't as important as the opinion of our next predictor. Dave the Cat gave us his Super Bowl pick next. The main reason I'm here is to really just say,

fuck you, Valish-Johns Jr.