Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Pod

The Bulls' brutal season just got even worse with the Jaden Ivey situation going totally off the rails. While the Bulls were right to quickly move on from Ivey after his series of social media rants, Arturas Karnisovas comes out of this mess looking worse than ever. This is especially true given Karnisovas hasn't even made any kind of statement on the matter, failing to show immediate accountability and forcing Billy Donovan and his players to comment on it first. 

It's yet another reason why Karnisovas should be fired, and there's very little reason to keep him around at this point. Nobody in the organization apparently has any faith in AK's plan, so will Michael Reinsdorf make the right decision? The public pressure after this Ivey mishap could prove to be too much to keep AK around. 

With the Karnisovas decision hanging over ownership, Donovan's future is also in question. There's smoke billowing that Donovan is ready to resign after the season, especially if Karnisovas is retained. Is there a scenario where Karnisovas is fired but Donovan moves into the front office to run basketball operations? 

There still is basketball happening on the court as the Bulls play out the string, with Leonard Miller one of the few bright spots. Matas Buzelis also continues to show flashes of being a potential star down the line, but there are still plenty of things for him to work on. 

Finally, the Final Four is here and Ricky has plenty of thoughts on how the top NBA Draft prospects have fared in the NCAA Tournament. Has Cameron Boozer's stock dropped at all after a somewhat lackluster run? Who has improved their draft stock? What's the Bulls' draft situation looking like? 

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The Bulls are 4-4 in March after going 0-11 in February, with Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis leading the way. Giddey has been the best version of himself in March throughout his career, and he's doing it again by being a triple-double machine and shooting the lights out from 3-point range. It's very similar to what happened last season, although a 15-5 finish likely isn't in the cards this time around. 

Meanwhile, Buzelis has enjoyed some monster games of late, including a career-high 41 points in an overtime win over the Warriors. What has Buzelis been doing well and what still needs to improve next season for him to take another leap into star status? 

With the Bulls winning games again and Billy Donovan pushing to keep winning, they look destined to finish in the No. 10 lottery slot. It's a battle between them and the Bucks for 9/10 in those lottery standings, but Milwaukee has been horrible and Giannis Antetokounmpo just got hurt again. 

With the draft in mind, it's officially time for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Ricky goes through region by region and highlights draft prospects to watch along with potential juicy matchups. His deep dive looks not at just the star prospects who could be in the Bulls' first-round draft range but some deeper sleepers who could be selected in the second round. 

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The Bulls have won a couple of crazy games since their 11-game losing streak, but they also just lost to the lowly Kings and look destined to finish in the No. 9 or 10 lottery slot. There's not a whole lot to write home about with the young players, with Matas Buzelis' growth stagnating a bit, Rob Dillingham looking rough and Leonard Miller going back to the bench against the Kings after some nice flashes in prior games when he got to play due to injuries. But, hey, at least Collin Sexton was enjoying a nice start to Mickey Mouse March before his leg injury in Sacramento. 

With the Bulls essentially playing out the string and March Madness about to kick into high gear, it's time to really start diving into 2026 NBA Draft. Ricky breaks down some of the top prospects in Chicago's current draft range, including Illinois star freshman Keaton Wagler. Ricky then examines some of his favorite prospects, such as Duke center Patrick Ngongba. 

And if the Bulls get lottery luck? Ricky looks at the much-hyped top of this draft, with Cameron Boozer sitting at No. 1 on his board and the Darryn Peterson saga adding a layer of intrigue to his draft stock. 

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The Bulls haven't won yet in February, going 0-10 so far with the worst net rating in the NBA by a mile. There has been a lot of ugly basketball after the trade deadline overhaul, with a 32-point loss to the Hornets in Coby White's return to the United Center the latest example. Where do the Bulls currently stand in the tank race? 

There hasn't been too much to glean from these games with all these new players and a bunch of injuries, but Matas Buzelis was a silver lining in the Hornets game with his career-high 32 points. Buzelis had been stagnating a bit before that, and the hope is he can build on this performance the rest of the season and give fans a reason to watch. 

Besides Buzelis, Josh Giddey has been a rough watch since his return from injury, while notable trade acquisition Rob Dillingham has also really struggled. However, the Bulls need to keep giving Dillingham as many minutes as possible. 

On the injury front, the Jaden Ivey situation took a strange turn after the All-Star break, and now it's unclear if he'll play again this season due to a nagging knee issue. How will that impact his free agency? Elsewhere, Jalen Smith is dealing with a nagging calf problem and Anfernee Simons has a fractured wrist. There's no reason to rush these guys back. 

 

 

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The Bulls have lost six straight games heading into the 2026 NBA All-Star break, with a total blowout in Boston to cap things off. The Bulls have been working in a bunch of new players after the trade deadline while also dealing with injuries to Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith, so things have been a mess. While the team should look a bit better once healthy, how long will that good health last and just how many more wins are left on the schedule? 
Racking up losses isn't a problem, though, as the priority should be winding up in the lottery while developing the young prospects acquired at the trade deadline. Namely, Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey should get a lot of burn. Will Billy Donovan actually play those guys big minutes when the roster is healthy? Or will he push hard to win every game and ride the more veteran players? If it's the latter, is he even the right coach for this team at this point? 
As the Bulls navigate the post-All-Star break schedule, the tanking discourse is kicking into full gear. Is there a fix? Ricky also breaks down some draft prospects for where Chicago is currently projected to land. 
Finally, the Bulls deserve more scorn for the Coby White situation, which saw them losing out on one of their second-round picks because of his nagging calf injury. White played 30 minutes in a blowout loss the day before he was traded, so there's another good reason for ownership to clean house (which won't happen). 
NOTES: 
The Bulls signing Jeremy Sochan was discussed on the show, but he was then signed by the Knicks after recording. 
The Bucks beat the Thunder on Thursday night, pulling them into a tie with the Bulls in the standings. 
There was talk about North Carolina star Caleb Wilson, but news broke after recording that he has a broken hand and will miss time. 
The Jazz and Pacers were fined for tanking measures on Thursday night after recording. 
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