Milwaukee Bucks: Arturas Karnisovas named Denver Nuggets GM
By Adam McGee
Reported as a finalist for the Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager’s job, Arturas Karnisovas will stay with the Denver Nuggets having been promoted to GM.
For those awaiting clarity on the uncertainty surrounding the vacant Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager position, news which broke on Wednesday evening could prove to be very significant.
In recent days, reports had suggested the finalists for the job were Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik and Denver Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, but now the options look to have been cut to just one man.
According to a report from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Karnisovas has been promoted to GM in Denver as part of a restructuring of the organization’s front office.
Sources: In an aggressive move to secure Denver's front office, Josh Kroenke has preempted Milwaukee's bid to hire Arturas Karnisovas as GM.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2017
Kroenke has promoted GM Tim Connelly to President of Basketball Operations and Karnisovas to General Manager, sources tell @TheVertical. https://t.co/o0HCflRrTH
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2017
W/ Karnisovas and Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik finalists, Milwaukee has yet to extend offer for GM job. Karnisovas withdrew in last hour. https://t.co/umWIbSsQwi
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2017
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Karnisovas has been widely credited as having played a key role in Denver’s success in drafting European prospects in recent seasons, with the team’s cornerstone Nikola Jokic acting as the standout example.
The Denver front office has often been praised for its progressive style and good decisions under Connelly’s watch, and so from the Nuggets’ perspective, retaining Connelly and Karnisovas while giving both the added boost of more prestigious titles makes perfect sense.
For Milwaukee, it would seem as if this would make Justin Zanik the GM by default, although with former Atlanta Hawks GM Wes Wilcox rumored to still officially be under consideration, perhaps he’ll end up back in the reckoning again.
Another option could be the Bucks reaching out to the Cleveland Cavaliers to speak to David Griffin, with the Finals now concluded and his contract set to wind down in the next couple of weeks.
Whether the Bucks ultimately wanted Karnisovas or not, this is the latest in a line of twists for an extended, open search that was far from ideal from an optics’ perspective to begin with.
Zanik could be — and may always have been — the Bucks’ top choice, but with Karnisovas’ withdrawal his appointment could now arrive with an unintentionally, slightly less ringing endorsement.
Even if Zanik gets the job, we’ll never know if he was always the pick or if the team had to resort to their contingency plan. Perhaps more importantly, Zanik won’t have that certainty either.
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Whether this speeds up the process for Milwaukee or delays it further remains to be seen, but the clock to draft night and free agency keeps on ticking all the same.