New NBA Rumors on 'Favorite' in Bulls' Front Office Search, Team's Stance on Candidate Pool

Three weeks after firing both Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley, the Chicago Bulls appear to be zeroing in on Matt Lloyd as their top front office executive.

On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 52:45 mark), ESPN's Brian Windhorst said that people in the NBA view Lloyd as the "favorite" to be Chicago's new head of basketball operations:

"A lot of us have known these candidates personally for many years. I think they're very strong. Externally, in the league, Matt Lloyd is viewed as the favorite for this job.

"The Bulls, last time they made a hire, whatever it was, six years ago, whatever long, Arturis Karnasovas was the GM. ... He came from outside the Bulls family. And I think there is some level of interest in hiring within the Bulls family. I don't like that thought process."

NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported on Sunday that Lloyd, Detroit Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey and Atlanta Hawks senior vice president Bryson Graham are viewed as the finalists for the Bulls.

Lloyd, who is in his second season as Minnesota Timberwolves general manager, was among the first round of candidates the Bulls received permission to interview in their search for a new front office executive.

Lloyd worked with the Bulls for 17 seasons from 1995 to 2012 in multiple front office roles. He later moved on to become the assistant general manager for the Orlando Magic, then joined the Timberwolves originally as senior vice president of basketball operations before getting promoted to his current role in July 2024.

When Karnišovas was originally hired by the Bulls in April 2020, it seemed to signal a change of direction because it was the first time they hired a lead executive with no previous ties to the organization since Jerry Reinsdorf bout the franchise in 1985.

Hiring Lloyd would mark the first time he would be in charge of a front office. Tim Connelly is the No. 1 guy with the Timberwolves.

Chicago is undergoing a complete organizational overhaul this offseason. In addition to the firings of Karnišovas and Eversley, Billy Donovan announced last week he was stepping down as head coach.

These changes come after the Bulls finished this season 31-51, their worst record since 2019-20. They have made the playoffs once in the past nine seasons and haven't won a playoff series since the 2014-15 season.