Former Bulls forward Carlos Boozer can really pick âem.
He proved that during the summer. Boozer walked onto the show âThe Kings Courtâ looking for love, and when all the elimination dinners were wrapped up, he found it, by all accounts. Heâs still in a relationship with his final choice, Janaye Robinson.
Thatâs lottery gold.
So if Boozer can navigate his way through the shark-infested waters of reality-TV dating, he surely can fix what ails his old franchise.
Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio last week, Boozer was given the general-manager hat for a few minutes and was asked what he would do to help get the Bulls out of mediocrity hell.
âI would make a splash and go get somebody that doesnât want to be on their current team,â Boozer said. âI would trade some assets for a potential superstar, and then I would load up on the â26 draft. The â26 draft is loaded.â
Everyone has a plan, but as obvious as Boozerâs plan was, he did hit on two glaring points.
The Bulls still lack a superstar, let alone a recent All-Star, and the 2026 draft class is indeed loaded.
Hereâs the issue that Boozer â and many âwhy canât they fix it?â experts â run into in dealing with the Bullsâ front office.
The people in the front office walk to the beat of their own drum, and theyâre the only ones hearing the music.
Boozer was spot-on about the upcoming draft class. Selfishly, Boozer can praise that class because his twin sons are a key part of it. Cameron Boozer is a top-three or top-four player depending on the mock draft, and Cayden Boozer is in the 20-30 range in the class.
Sitting atop of it is Kansas-bound guard Darryn Peterson, followed by A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Nate Ament and Mikel Brown Jr. Memo to Boozer: This Bulls front office doesnât care.
The 2025 draft class also was loaded, and Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas thumbed his nose at it, doubling down by tightening the belt on his slacks of âcompetitive integrity.â
The result? French project Noa Essengue at No. 12. Go get âem, rook.
Boozerâs first point has been asked of this front office for a long time, especially in the wake of trading perennial All-Star DeMar DeRozan in July 2024. What is the plan to get a difference-maker?
To Karnisovasâ credit, he at least flashes a pulse on this front. The Bulls were disappointed that the Mavericks didnât even call them before they traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
Would they have had the assets or ability to acquire Doncic? Not in this lifetime. But they at least wanted an opportunity to stand at the plate and watch the fastball whiz by.
And therein lies the problem for this front office and organization. When big swaps are happening throughout the league, the Bulls are an afterthought. They arenât even considered serious players in the game.
Oh, sure, there are all kinds of trade rumors circulating as camp is set to begin at the end of the month. The Jonathan Kuminga interest remains real, they kicked the tires on Cam Whitmore before he was traded to the Wizards and veteran Nikola Vucevic is still being shopped, but those are all secondary moves.
Warning-track power at best.
While the goal for a global brand such as the Bulls should be an NBA championship, their front office seems content to just try to get out of the play-in round. Itâs a low-bar mentality yielding low-bar results.
So, yes, all the former Bulls can say what they want as far as a solution. But it all has been said and written before with this front office in charge.