David Banks/Associated Press

The Chicago Bulls relieved general manager Gar Forman of his duties Monday, ending a 22-year run with the franchise.



Chicago released a statement on the move on the same day it announced Arturas Karnisovas as the team's new executive vice president of basketball operations.

Forman, who has been with Chicago in various capacities since 1998, took over as the team's GM in 2009.

The Bulls enjoyed a successful run at the turn of the decade and into the mid-2010s as they made the playoffs seven straight years and eight of nine.

However, the bottom fell out as the franchise went 27-55 in 2017-18 and 22-60 last year. The Bulls were just 22-43 when the NBA suspended the current season March 11 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chicago fired head coach Fred Hoiberg in December 2018 after three-plus campaigns, and replacement Jim Boylen has gone just 39-84 in his place.

Recent first-round draft picks (Wendell Carter Jr., Lauri Markkanen) have shown promise, but other deals have not panned out as well as hoped.

In particular, Chicago traded Jabari Parker halfway into the 2018-19 season after signing him to a contract potentially worth $40 million over two years.

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The Bulls were also reportedly interested in offers for Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine two years after acquiring the duo in the Jimmy Butler deal, per Zach Lowe of ESPN in February 2019.

That was less than one year after Chicago matched a four-year, $78 million offer sheet for LaVine.

LaVine and Dunn have shown promise, but the Bulls have been beset by injuries and drama. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported in December 2018 the team nearly boycotted a practice before holding meetings to clear the air instead.

Forman's tenure started with much promise. The 2010-11 Bulls went 62-20 and earned the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed.

The Bulls lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the conference finals, but hope was prevalent with a young team led by point guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah.

However, Rose suffered a torn ACL in the 2011-12 playoffs that forced him to miss the 2012-13 regular season. He only played 10 games in 2013-14 before suffering a torn meniscus that ruled him out for the rest of the year.

Replacing Rose's MVP-level talent was too much for the Bulls to overcome to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He did eventually return to the floor, but they traded him in 2016 to the New York Knicks.

Chicago also made some questionable decisions in hindsight, including trading two first-round picks (which ended up being quality NBA starters in Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris) to the Denver Nuggets for Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph during the 2014 draft.

Forman was just the third Bulls general manager since 1985. Jerry Krause oversaw the team from 1985 to 2003, and John Paxson sat in the GM's chair from 2003 to 2009 until being promoted to vice president of basketball operations.