Six candidates emerge to rebuild the Chicago Bulls' front office. Local ties and vast experience headline the intensive search for basketball leadership.
After brewing the plan for two weeks after the front office fallout, the Chicago Bulls made a move.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Bulls have identified six candidates for their front office vacancy in the wake of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley's dismissal earlier this month: Matt Lloyd (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dennis Lindsey (Detroit Pistons), Bryson Graham (Atlanta Hawks), Mike Gansey (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dave Telep (San Antonio Spurs) and Austin Brown, co-head of CAA's basketball division. The organization has granted permission to begin interviewing the targets in the coming days.
The search comes after CEO Michael Reinsdorf pledged to run a more rigorous process than the one that produced AKME, including the use of a search firm, something the Bulls skipped the last time around during the COVID pandemic. Reinsdorf also stressed that whoever lands the job needs to be fully aligned with coach Billy Donovan, whose own future remains unresolved despite organizational support to retain him.
Two names on the list carry an obvious local focus. Lloyd is a Chicago native who began his front office career as a Bulls intern before working his way up through media coordination, operations and scouting over nine years with the organization. He left in 2012, joined the Orlando Magic as assistant general manager and spent a decade there before landing in Minnesota, where he was promoted to general manager in 2024. Coming home would complete a full circle.
Brown's connection runs through Evanston, where he grew up just north of Chicago. He's the outlier on this list — a sports agent rather than a traditional front office executive — but his player network is arguably unmatched. As co-head of CAA's basketball division, Brown represents Cooper Flagg and Donovan Mitchell, among others. Notably, the Bulls recruited Brown in 2020 before the franchise turned to AKME, per ESPN.
The rest of the list also brings legitimate credentials. Lindsey, currently senior vice president of basketball operations in Detroit, built his reputation as Utah's general manager from 2012 to 2019, drafting both Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and turning the Jazz into a perennial playoff contender.
Dec 4, 2018; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey (left) talks with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (right) before a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-Imagn ImagesGraham, Atlanta's senior vice president of basketball operations, spent 14 years rising from intern to general manager in New Orleans, where he developed a reputation as a draft-room specialist — finding Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado when others passed.
Gansey, Cleveland's general manager, earned his stripes running the Cavaliers' G League affiliate, the Canton Chargers (rebranded as Cleveland Chargers in 2021), and winning Executive of the Year in 2017, playing a quiet but significant role in the franchise's post-LeBron rebuild under Koby Altman.
Telep is perhaps the most unconventional name — a former ESPN recruiting analyst turned Spurs assistant general manager who has spent decades evaluating prospects before they ever step on a college court, and has been central to San Antonio's rebuild around Victor Wembanyama in recent years.