The Bulls are on the verge of hiring former Suns assistant GM Pat Connelly to join Arturas Karnisovas

After serving as Suns assistant general manager from 2013-18, Pat Connelly appears to be headed to Chicago. There, he will reunite with newly named executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas as part of an entirely reformed Bulls front office.

Connelly and Karnisovas worked together in Denver last season, where Karnisovas was the general manager and Connelly was the director of player personnel. They both served under president Tim Connelly, who of course is Pat’s brother.

After five seasons with the Suns alongside Ryan McDonough, Connelly was dismissed along with his boss and the majority of the Suns’ front office in October 2018. Prior to that point, Connelly was heavily involved in the Suns’ scouting department, which was, you know, pretty hit or miss during the McDonough era.

He is expected to become Karnisovas’ second hire after J.J. Polk, who was brought on from the Pelicans as a cap guru. Add in Connelly’s player personnel background and connection to Karnisovas, and the Bulls are going strong toward a modern, cohesive front office.