NBA: Bulls name Canadian as new general manager

As a smash-hit documentary of the Chicago Bulls 1990s dynasty captivates US sports television viewers, the NBA team has turned to Canadian Marc Eversley to revive its current fortunes.

The Bulls announced Friday that Eversley, formerly the Philadelphia 76ers vice president of player personnel, has been hired as the team’s new general manager.

“The Last Dance”, a 10-part film on Michael Jordan and the six NBA crowns he won with the Bulls, has set record US ratings figures with live sport shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the Bulls last won the NBA title in 1998, they have advanced past the second round of the playoffs only once, falling to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in 2011. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2015.

Eversley becomes the latest addition for team vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, the former Denver Nuggets general manager who joined the Bulls on April 13.

Karnisovas, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist for Lithuania, has also hired former New Orleans Pelicans official J.J. Polk as assistant general manager and Pat Connelly a vice president of player personnel.

“I set out to find a general manager who complemented my vision and values, and who could help implement them at the Bulls in a fresh way,” Karnisovas said. “Marc’s background and skills do exactly that.

“He’s ready for this next step in his career and I’m looking forward to working with him to build the Bulls back into a perennial contender.”

Eversley, the Bulls’ first black general manager, also worked for the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors as part of 14 years of NBA experience after working for a decade at Nike.

“Becoming a general manager in the NBA and joining the Chicago Bulls family is a dream come true,” Eversley said. “We will put in the work and all it entails to become a sustainable and winning team.” (AFP)