NUGGETS LOSE GENERAL MANAGER TO BULLS
At the core of the Nuggets’ front office are three basic tenets: continuity, loyalty and growth.
The group, led by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, prides itself on internal development, which is why the news that Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas was finalizing a deal to become the Chicago Bulls’ new top executive was met with praise from Denver’s perspective.
In fact, Connelly and Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke were instrumental in helping Karnisovas land the job, according to a league source.
Karnisovas’ professionalism, international network, attention to detail and skill evaluation were all admired within the Nuggets’ front office. Together, those qualities helped mold Denver’s franchise into a sus
tained contender in the Western Conference.
What his departure means for the Nuggets, who will have a vacancy at general manager, remains to be seen. If the franchise looks to promote from within, assistant general manager Calvin Booth would likely be a viable candidate.
Booth is now in his third season as the Nuggets’ assistant GM after spending the prior four seasons in Minnesota as its Director of Player Personnel. Connelly has a longstanding relationship with the 10-year NBA veteran and values both his evaluation skills and eagerness to improve.
As of Thursday, it was also unclear if any other front office members would be heading to Chicago with Karnisovas, who’s been tasked with revamping the Bulls’ basketball operations staff.
Eleven-year NBA veteran Jared Jeffries, who spent four years in the Nuggets’ front office working alongside Karnisovas and Connelly, has had the privilege of seeing all sides of the Lithuanian national. That includes the diligent and calculating basketball executive’s lighter side as a fellow lover of electronic dance music.
Jeffries, who joined the Nuggets’ front office in 2013, lauded Karnisovas’ leadership, especially with a young staff at the time. He also praised his attention to detail.
“Definitely just his grasp of the world and having been one of the best international players of all-time and being able to share that wealth of knowledge,” Jeffries said of Karnisovas’ lengthy European basketball resume, which included stops in Spain and Italy.
Karnisovas was on two Lithuanian Olympic teams that won a bronze medal. Jeffries called Chicago’s decision to hire him a “no brainer.”
“His pedigree, how long he’s worked, he’s taken his time,” Jeffries said. “I think he did an amazing job of trying to take his time, picking his spots and finding the job that he wanted. Being able to look at this job, I mean it’s the Chicago Bulls, man. C’mon, dude. It doesn’t get any better than that.”