Fans are understandably fed up, but it’s business as usual for the lukewarm front office.

The day after a third straight Bulls season ended short of the playoffs, and without a playoff series win in his five years at the helm, Bulls President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas wants the fans to be patient.

“I’m asking for fans of patience, because we’re in the first year of transition. The way we finished shows some promise,” he said. “It’s hard to win games in this league, and to finish 15-5 [in the last 20 games], that’s not a victory lap. But I think there’s some positives.”

Karnišovas emphasized the Bulls are trying to shrink the timeline of a rebuild — or transition, as he calls it — with a focus on young players with experience. But without a star player, getting anywhere close to a championship level seems like an almost impossible task.

“There is a plan, and we’re always going to be looking how to improve this roster by adding a player, or a high-caliber player. At the same time, I would not put any limitations on this roster the way Coby’s been playing, or the way Josh has been playing.”

Coby White and Josh Giddey were clear bright spots for the Bulls, leading the late season surge, both feel they can be the backcourt of a winning team despite any doubters.

“I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life. Josh obviously proved a lot of people wrong this year,” White said. “We just played, so then we’ve got something we could build on.”

“The way we ended the back half of the year was the right way. We did it together. We did it collectively,” Giddey said. “So the second-half-of-the-year player is who I am.”

Karnišovas did make he clear he wants both Giddey and White to be part of this team long term. Giddey is a restricted free agent, and White is eligible for an extension.

They, along with Matas Buzelis, appear to be the core of whatever the Bulls are trying to build going forward.

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