Sources: Bulls get OK to interview multiple execs

The Chicago Bulls have started the search process for their new head of basketball operations, receiving permission to interview Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd, Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey, Hawks senior vice president Bryson Graham, Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and Spurs assistant GM Dave Telep, sources told ESPN on Monday.

The Bulls are also expected to speak with the co-head of CAA's basketball division, Austin Brown, regarding the vacancy, sources told ESPN.

Interviews are expected to begin this week, sources said, and the team is aiming to hire its new decision-maker just before or just after the mid-May draft combine.

The Bulls made sweeping front office changes two weeks ago, firing executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6 after a six-year run produced just one playoff appearance.

Ownership has made it clear that the franchise wants to keep head coach Billy Donovan under any circumstance.

"If I interview someone and they're not sold on Billy, they're not sold on a Hall of Fame coach; they're not sold on a person who's won championships in college, who's gone deep in the playoffs with Oklahoma City," Bulls CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf said April 7. "... If Billy wants to be our coach and someone's not interested in that, then they're probably not the right candidate for us."

Donovan later responded by saying he's not reading into the endorsement.

"I think Michael was making the point of how he felt about me," Donovan said about Reinsdorf's comments. "But I also understand that, like I said, everybody's got to look out for what is best for the Bulls at that point in time."

Reinsdorf said the Bulls planned to cast a wider net during their basketball operations search compared to the one that landed Karnisovas in 2020, and the team has compiled a list of candidates with a wide range of experience around the league.

Lloyd spent 17 years in Chicago (1995-2012) in various basketball operations and scouting roles before serving as assistant GM of the Orlando Magic for 10 years. Lloyd has been the top lieutenant to Timberwolves president Tim Connelly since 2022 and a key in the day-to-day operations for the reigning two-time Western Conference finalists.

Lindsey has been with the Pistons since the start of the 2024-25 season, but he has 30 years of front office and scouting experience. He spent 11 seasons with the Utah Jazz, serving as general manager for seven years and two seasons as VP of basketball operations. Lindsey also spent a year as senior adviser for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2023-24 season, when the Mavs went to the Finals.

Graham joined the Hawks after 15 seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans (2010-25), where he rose from an intern to general manager. Over his executive career, Graham has been known for a tremendous scouting eye, being part of successful finds in the draft and player acquisitions.

Gansey has been the Cavs general manager under team president Koby Altman since February 2022, helping build the franchise into a contender again in the East after rising from an assistant general manager and running the Cavs G-League team.

Telep has been with the Spurs for 13 seasons in roles ranging from vice president of basketball operations, director of player personnel and director of scouting. Before joining the Spurs' front office, he was the senior national recruiting analyst for ESPN.com and a sideline reporter for ESPNU.

Brown, an honoree on the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and a member of Sports Business Journal's Forty Under 40 list in 2020 as a well-respected agent, has been offered multiple front office roles in recent years. He was offered the GM position by the Bulls under Karnisovas during their 2020 process, sources said.

Brown currently represents notable NBA players such as Donovan Mitchell, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cooper Flagg, Trae Young and OG Anunoby, among others.

In the last 15 years, Bob Myers (Golden State Warriors, 2011), Rob Pelinka (Los Angeles Lakers, 2017) and Leon Rose (New York Knicks, 2020) have made the transition from successful agents to prominent top team executives.