Arturas Karnisovas is always stoic. In the public eye he never appears frazzled or panicked. Maybe Karnisovas’ ever-confident demeanor came from growing up in the former Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. Perhaps it came from a 17-year career working in professional basketball where he saw it all.
Since 2013, Karnisovas has been second-in-command in the Nuggets’ front office under current president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, a role that he’ll vacate to pursue a new venture. Karnisovas agreed to a deal Wednesday night with the Chicago Bulls to run their basketball operations department, as reported by ESPN.
The Nuggets’ now-former general manager arrived in Denver in 2013 via Houston where he was the Rockets’ director of scouting. Before that he worked in the league office after an impressive career overseas. Karnisovas helped Lithuania win the bronze medal at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and played professionally for several European teams including Barcelona. Karnisovas was named FIBA’s European Player of the Year in 1996 and reached the Euroleague Final Four three times.
Those years spent overseas established Karnisovas as a force on the international scouting circuit with a deep Rolodex of basketball contacts, many of which are current head coaches, agents and executives who he first met during his playing days. It was through those connections along with plenty of scouting of his own and from the rest of Denver’s front office that the Nuggets initially took a liking to a young Serbian center named Nikola Jokic.
He and the Nuggets have also found success elsewhere in the draft. Some of Denver’s biggest hits include the 2013 draft night trade that landed Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic in exchange for Doug McDermott, selecting Jamal Murray seventh overall in 2016 and Malik Beasley at No. 19 in that same draft, and nabbing Monte Morris in the second round in 2017.
Under a Connelly and Karnisovas-led front office, the Nuggets plucked Will Barton along with a future first-round pick which turned into Beasley from Portland in a 2015 trade for Arron Afflalo. Denver also agreed to terms with free agent Paul Millsap in 2017, arguably the top free agent signing in franchise history.
Other organizations have recognized Karnisovas’ eye for talent and front office acumen. He was a finalist for the Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager opening in 2017 before withdrawing his name after the Nuggets promoted him to general manager from assistant GM. He also drew interest from the Nets and 76ers over the last several years.
It’s why the Nuggets and Connelly had to expect that eventually Karnisovas would depart for what he deemed the right opportunity.
On paper the Bulls look like a great fit.
Karnisovas brings a wealth of knowledge about the scouting scene, both locally and internationally, has a strong track record in the draft as an executive and is well-respected throughout the league. All of those qualifications would figure to be prerequisites for a rebuilding organization like the Bulls who are likely due for significant roster turnover in the coming months.
Chicago is also an international city with a large Eastern European population and the Bulls are reportedly willing to let Karnisovas reshape their organization and hire his own staff. It remains to be seen if Karnisovas will attempt to bring any current Nuggets front office members with him to Chicago.
To replace Karnisovas the Nuggets could look internally. Assistant general manager Calvin Booth has been with the Nuggets since 2017 and is highly regarded within the organization. Booth figures to be a leading candidate for the job.
But Karnisovas’ shoes will be hard ones to fill. The towering 6-foot-8 executive’s diverse background, from playing collegiately at Seton Hall and then internationally, to the many positions he’s held throughout the league, will be difficult to replace.
So will his quiet but impactful presence in the Nuggets’ front office.
