Stacey Interviews Arturas Karnisovas

[HomoSapien]

Saw this posted in the other thread, but didn't want it buried in there. He rarely gives interviews, so let's give this its own thread. Watching it now, myself:

Watch on YouTube

[HomoSapien]

Ok, he revealed the plan. It's the 2026 plan. Said that draft is projected to be good + they will have cap space then.

[Dan Z]

Ok, he revealed the plan. It's the 2026 plan. Said that draft is projected to be good + they will have cap space then.

I was only able to skim the interview, but does he mean that they plan on signing someone significant in 2026? If so....who will even be available?

Counting on free agency in this era seems like a foolish way to go, but I'm glad he said that the draft is project to be good. I just wish he pushed harder to get a higher pick.

[Muzbar]

Ok, he revealed the plan. It's the 2026 plan. Said that draft is projected to be good + they will have cap space then.

I was only able to skim the interview, but does he mean that they plan on signing someone significant in 2026? If so....who will even be available?

Counting on free agency in this era seems like a foolish way to go, but I'm glad he said that the draft is project to be good. I just wish he pushed harder to get a higher pick.

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

[Dan Z]

Ok, he revealed the plan. It's the 2026 plan. Said that draft is projected to be good + they will have cap space then.

I was only able to skim the interview, but does he mean that they plan on signing someone significant in 2026? If so....who will even be available?

Counting on free agency in this era seems like a foolish way to go, but I'm glad he said that the draft is project to be good. I just wish he pushed harder to get a higher pick.

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

[BullChit]

I was only able to skim the interview, but does he mean that they plan on signing someone significant in 2026? If so....who will even be available?

Counting on free agency in this era seems like a foolish way to go, but I'm glad he said that the draft is project to be good. I just wish he pushed harder to get a higher pick.

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

Giddey is a bit of an edge case with that though. He's young and clearly has talent and upside but he didn't fit with the Thunder moving forward due to SGA's emergence.

It was kind of a pick your path moment for the Thunder and clearly you pick SGA in that situation.

I'm. Sure there are lots of cases like that around the league where a good found talent just doesn't fit the team direction any more.

Problem is you end up getting bent over in those trade talks more often than not. Well AK does anyway

[dougthonus]

Not surprising, because I'm sure there was some negotiation of what would be discussed (or just knew from how Stacey is how it would go), but a complete fluff interview with nothing meaningful said whatsoever.

I guess he said that we will use our draft picks and free agency to get better, and that acquiring young guys with experience is better than draft picks because he's shortened the time line to get better (which would only be true if you had star players to even begin the timeline or some other plan to acquire them).

To the extent we have a plan, it feels like "banking on 26 FA and getting super lucky in the lottery without actually juicing our odds".

[MrSparkle]

I don’t think his approach is the worst. I’m not into the execution of it. You must win the margins on most moves you make, and so far, you can say that we paid too much for every trade, signing and draft pick, besides for a few exceptions which aren’t that relevant in the big picture (i.e. Ayo). Even the ones that looked good at the time (Lonzo, Caruso, Demar, Vuc’s “discount” resigning) somehow ended up netting zero or backfiring.

I like the idea or Pat, Terry - 3D tweener and lanky defensive/playmaker… the type of player you want. But so far they’ve been far below average. And then other pickups that I thought might work out have come and again, total waste of time - i.e. Troy Brown Jr.

I keep coming back to the guy probably looking like a genius solely because of the Jokic move. Smart or not, he’s a big risk taker without a strong record of player evaluation.

Future All-Stars he handed away for nothing: Gobert, Mitchell, Lauri.

Hasn’t drafted all that much in Chicago, but Terry/Pat/Phillips show some use, yet zero star caliber. Marko was a big disappointment (couldn’t hang at all), and Ayo is a MLE-caliber replaceable bench guard. So if you don’t draft well, you make it up with trades, right? Well, you compile the IN/OUT chart for his tenure of the best players, and it looks F’ing brutal. Here are the “all said and done” Arturas in n out teams, facing off in a Vegas competition:

Caruso
Zach/Demar
Franz
Lauri
Gafford/Wendell

Tre
Huerter
Giddey
Collins
Vuc

That’s just a crazy disparity in net talent, especially since we have 1 lotto protected POR pick and our own pick returned to show for it.

[DuckIII]

I’m having way too nice a day to watch this.

[Dan Z]

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

Giddey is a bit of an edge case with that though. He's young and clearly has talent and upside but he didn't fit with the Thunder moving forward due to SGA's emergence.

It was kind of a pick your path moment for the Thunder and clearly you pick SGA in that situation.

I'm. Sure there are lots of cases like that around the league where a good found talent just doesn't fit the team direction any more.

Problem is you end up getting bent over in those trade talks more often than not. Well AK does anyway

I agree with you about Giddey. He's an example of how that approach might work. However we wont know for a few years (new contract, does he continue to improve?, etc).

However, there aren't many situations like that one. Generally it's more like Jalen Smith. Good player, but probably not more than a role player.

In both cases you still need a franchise player worth building around (or with).

[kodo]

I was only able to skim the interview, but does he mean that they plan on signing someone significant in 2026? If so....who will even be available?

Counting on free agency in this era seems like a foolish way to go, but I'm glad he said that the draft is project to be good. I just wish he pushed harder to get a higher pick.

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

It has a less likely chance of finding a star than the draft, but it's pretty clear AK is not tanking. So if being (intentionally) bottom 4 for a top pick is simply 100000% off the table while AK draws breath, then it's the next best thing to hunt for the next SGA, Haliburton, or Brunson who's already playing in the NBA and undervalued.

[BullChit]

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

Giddey is a bit of an edge case with that though. He's young and clearly has talent and upside but he didn't fit with the Thunder moving forward due to SGA's emergence.

It was kind of a pick your path moment for the Thunder and clearly you pick SGA in that situation.

I'm. Sure there are lots of cases like that around the league where a good found talent just doesn't fit the team direction any more.

Problem is you end up getting bent over in those trade talks more often than not. Well AK does anyway

I agree with you about Giddey. He's an example of how that approach might work. However we wont know for a few years (new contract, does he continue to improve?, etc).

However, there aren't many situations like that one. Generally it's more like Jalen Smith. Good player, but probably not more than a role player.

In both cases you still need a franchise player worth building around (or with).

Oh 100%

Its also a plan that requires an incredible amount of deftness and finesse that I do not believe this FO has at all.

[Dan Z]

I haven't listened to it yet (I'm not sure I'm ready), but he need to follow more of the Rockets/Pistons mold.

Acquire young center pieces via the lottery, develop and THEN bring in complimentary veterans to help elevate that young talent and teach them how to win games.

Don't go trying to pick up some 'big name' in free agency, if you miss out you end up blowing your capspace on Ron Mercers and and Eddie Robinsons, that gets you no where or at least get 1, just 1 top end talent and build from there like the Mavericks were doing (before becoming brain dead and trading their 25yo superstar for an aging injury prone vet).

Get a core in place first!

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

It has a less likely chance of finding a star than the draft, but it's pretty clear AK is not tanking. So if being (intentionally) bottom 4 for a top pick is simply 100000% off the table while AK draws breath, then it's the next best thing to hunt for the next SGA, Haliburton, or Brunson who's already playing in the NBA and undervalued.

Each one of those situations were unique:

Brunson only wanted to play in NY.
The Clippers overpaid for PG because of Kawhi.
The Kings traded Haliburton because they already had Fox and the Pacers had Sabonis to trade.

Players aren't asking to come here to play (the team hasn't made the playoffs in three years).

Nobody is overpaying (in a trade) for anyone on the current roster.

The Bulls don't have an asset like Sabonis to trade for a good player.

The other thing is that AK hasn't done a good job of building up assets to make a big trade (or big ish trade).

I'd rather take my chances in the draft, even though he won't tank. Maybe he gets lucky and finds a Haliburton type of player in the mid to late lottery (I'm including next year too and have no idea where they end up in that draft).

[SalmonsSuperfan]

I like that Stacey's wearing an Angels hat, ostensibly because Tim Anderson is fighting for his career on that team.

[ImSlower]

It's tough for me to listen to the broadcasts with King. He's an absurd homer for his team, more than just about any other color commentator in the league. It works great when we're winning - the Rose days of course, and the un-sustainable blip when the Bulls had the best record, etc. In my own opinion, I have a very hard time listening to the Amin/King duo when we're watching a terrible on-court product. The constant giggling and King's mediocre on-court analysis is rough when the best case scenario for this team is losses and a lucky move up for draft position. King and Amin would be a delight if this team were a viable, winning roster.

This interview felt incredibly awkward to me as Karnisovas has singularly broken this organization with his decisions.

[Bulliever2020]

I’m having way too nice a day to watch this.

Yup, he may be the most uninspiring speaker I have ever heard

[kodo]

AK talks about acquiring young players who have already had some experience in the league such as Jalen Smith and Giddey. That's good in theory, but when you think about it then it's not a good as it sounds. I say that because if a young player has shown potential then there's a good chance the team who drafted (or discovered him) will keep him. If not, then you'd have to get said player in a trade and give up good assets for them.

On top of that a decent young player (or players) could cause you to win just enough games so that you don't end up with a high end lottery pick.

That means you never find a top end talent to build around.

I agree with you about the Rockets and Pistons. Get players with good potential first (with as many assets as you can acquire) and then sign some vets.

It has a less likely chance of finding a star than the draft, but it's pretty clear AK is not tanking. So if being (intentionally) bottom 4 for a top pick is simply 100000% off the table while AK draws breath, then it's the next best thing to hunt for the next SGA, Haliburton, or Brunson who's already playing in the NBA and undervalued.

Each one of those situations were unique:

Brunson only wanted to play in NY.
The Clippers overpaid for PG because of Kawhi.
The Kings traded Haliburton because they already had Fox and the Pacers had Sabonis to trade.

Players aren't asking to come here to play (the team hasn't made the playoffs in three years).

Nobody is overpaying (in a trade) for anyone on the current roster.

The Bulls don't have an asset like Sabonis to trade for a good player.

The other thing is that AK hasn't done a good job of building up assets to make a big trade (or big ish trade).

I'd rather take my chances in the draft, even though he won't tank. Maybe he gets lucky and finds a Haliburton type of player in the mid to late lottery (I'm including next year too and have no idea where they end up in that draft).

So you would have preferred we kept Caruso this last year and let him walk in FA for nothing instead of having Giddey?

[lostonbase]

2026? after all this? Good gravy, how? why? ugh

[Hangtime84]

2026? after all this? Good gravy, how? why? ugh

Dunno praying on a Coby white and Patrick Williams package.

[Dan Z]

It has a less likely chance of finding a star than the draft, but it's pretty clear AK is not tanking. So if being (intentionally) bottom 4 for a top pick is simply 100000% off the table while AK draws breath, then it's the next best thing to hunt for the next SGA, Haliburton, or Brunson who's already playing in the NBA and undervalued.

Each one of those situations were unique:

Brunson only wanted to play in NY.
The Clippers overpaid for PG because of Kawhi.
The Kings traded Haliburton because they already had Fox and the Pacers had Sabonis to trade.

Players aren't asking to come here to play (the team hasn't made the playoffs in three years).

Nobody is overpaying (in a trade) for anyone on the current roster.

The Bulls don't have an asset like Sabonis to trade for a good player.

The other thing is that AK hasn't done a good job of building up assets to make a big trade (or big ish trade).

I'd rather take my chances in the draft, even though he won't tank. Maybe he gets lucky and finds a Haliburton type of player in the mid to late lottery (I'm including next year too and have no idea where they end up in that draft).

So you would have preferred we kept Caruso this last year and let him walk in FA for nothing instead of having Giddey?

No. I wanted to get a pick or picks for Caruso. And I wanted them to do so a half season earlier so they could get more value for him.