Arturas Karnisovas will have a crucial decision to make during his first year with the Chicago Bulls, as the fate of a young Lauri Markkanen hinges on his process.
Markkanen regressed this past season under Jim Boylen with a mixture of a change in his role, decreased minutes, and some injury woes that kept him from taking a stride forward. The 7-footer is due for a contract extension as early as the start of the offseason, but he's unlikely to get an offer from the front office just yet.
Karnisovas; the newly-hired Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations, will take his time and take a wait-and-see approach to determine whether the marksman merits the extension.
Via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago:
“I think given that the new regime likely is viewing 2020-21 as a see-what-we’ve-got season, it’s more likely than not that no extension is reached. Then, you negotiate again in 2021 depending on how Markkanen fared,” Johnson wrote as a mailbag response. “This strategy cost the Bulls a lot of money in the Jimmy Butler scenario. But it’s a good problem to have if a player with current question marks blossoms into a star — like Butler did and like Karnisovas hopes Markkanen can.”
Markkanen's efficiency took a dip in nearly every aspect after an encouraging second season in the league. His points, rebounds, minutes, and shooting percentage numbers all went down in his first year under Boylen, resulting in career-lows.
The 2019-20 season was undoubtedly the wrong time to see this all-around nosedive, but Karnisovas is a cautious customer, and he will be sure to give the former lottery pick a chance to right the ship before he has to make a decision a year from now.
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