NBA insider lashes out at Bulls ownership after another quiet offseason
In an environment where even Jusuf Nurkic was traded, Chicago is supposedly struggling to flip the reasonably priced expiring contract of former two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.
The Bulls have been the suckers for several of the league's recent deals, including trades of former two-time All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso and two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine.
Chicago under recently-extended team president Arturas Karnisovas also has been prone to selecting raw, developmental projects in the draft of late. For every Matas Buzelis that shows quick promise, it feels as if young players like Dalen Terry or Patrick Williams wind up becoming borderline busts.
MORE NEWS:Bulls envision major role change for Matas Buzelis in Year 2
Fans are finally on to the Reinsdorf family's scheme when it comes to Bulls ownership: avoiding the luxury tax and avoiding building a quality roster while reaping the benefits of possessing a major market franchise.
Now, an NBA expert has called out Chicago ownership following yet another lackluster summer of transactions.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin (via @CHGO_Bulls) alluded to a similar situation, the Buss family's sale of L.A. to Mark Walter. For Jeanie Buss and Jerry Reinsdorf, owning a sports team became their primary revenue source. For Walter, it's part of a much broader portfolio.
"Obviously I spend a lot of my day job covering the Lakers, and seeing them have their major franchise sale over the summer, for a valuation of $10 million, makes you think about the Reinsdorfs," McMenamin said. "They're one of the remaining family-run [NBA] businesses, where their main stream of revenue is from their teams. It's not like they have some outside private investment, or real estate, etc. etc."
"And you just have to wonder, how long a business like that — like the Reinsdorfs' — family, mom-and-pop, can compete in today's NBA?" McMenamin said. "Now certainly, you could say they could make some better decisions... but just bigger-picture, I don't know if they will be the most competitive team if they have that ownership structure in place."
MORE NEWS:NBA insider has theory on Josh Giddey, Bulls contract-talks
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