The Chicago Bulls front office faces a pivotal off-court decision this summer after parting with director of player development Peter Patton.
Player development never has been more important for the Bulls as executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas embarks on a new rebuild, which he addressed at length during exit interviews Thursday. After a third consecutive year of missing the playoffs, Karnišovas is attempting to chart a path forward by investing in the development of “young, experienced players.”
That process started by opting not to exercise a team option on Patton’s contract, removing him as player development director after two seasons. The decision was not well-received by many Bulls players, a source said.
The Bulls originally hired Patton after the 2022-23 season following a dismal year as the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team.
“Peter comes to us not only as a shooting coach, but somebody who can actually oversee our player development function,” general manager Marc Eversley said in June 2023. “We thought we needed a fresh look. We thought we needed to look at a different approach. And he brings a wealth of experience to that position.
“So we’re excited about having him here in our building, working with our coaching staff, working with our players, and we feel like he can help the overall look and feel of how to play the game and shoot the ball.”
The team’s shot profile changed significantly over the next two seasons. In 2022-23, the Bulls took 2,367 3-pointers and made them at a 36.1% rate. This season, they took 3,447 3-pointers and shot 36.7%, resulting in a 48.2% increase in made 3-pointers in two years.
The increase can’t be entirely credited to Patton. Coach Billy Donovan installed a new offense this year that required a significantly higher 3-point volume. But Patton played a key role in improving individual players’ shots enough to maintain relative stability in shooting percentage while the volume increased rapidly in a short time.
Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis were among the players who openly praised Patton’s influence on their improvement. For long hours before games and after practices, Patton was ever-present on the Advocate Center and United Center courts, guiding drills to highlight minute details in a shot that could lead to increased consistency.
Although he specialized as a shooting coach, Patton oversaw the entirety of internal development of Bulls players. And a source said Patton didn’t refrain from sharing his opinions on how the Bulls could improve on and off the court — insight that wasn’t always well-received by the top brass.
Photos: Chicago Bulls’ end-of-season news conference after finishing short of playoffs
This isn’t the first significant — or unpopular — staffing change Karnišovas made in the past two seasons.
The Bulls demoted assistant coach Maurice Cheeks last summer, leading to his departure for the New York Knicks this season. The team also parted with assistant coach Chris Fleming last year. Both coaches had formed close ties with young core players, including White and Dosunmu.
The Bulls also opted not to extend the contract of vice president of basketball strategy Steve Weinman earlier this season. That left the Bulls with only one analytics staffer in the front office. By comparison, teams such as the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics employ five staffers in their data and analytics departments.
Patton operated a staff of three player development managers — Austin Dufault, L.D. Williams and Peter Crawford — who will remain with the Bulls after his departure. The team will begin a hiring search for a new player development director immediately, a process that could result in an internal promotion.
Roster decisions are the flashiest piece of Karnišovas’ job, but his decisions on positions in the front office and on the coaching staff also carry important weight in the team’s overall success.
The current Bulls roster includes nine full-contract players who are 25 or younger, and they will add another this summer with a lottery pick in the draft. Any success the Bulls hope to find — short or long term — will derive from the potential improvement of that group.
Succeeding at player development will start at the top — a decision made under heavier scrutiny as Karnišovas begins the second roster rebuild of his tenure in Chicago.
