Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Pod · Blue Wire

Why haven't Bulls fired Arturas Karnisovas yet?

April 1, 2026·1 hr 26 min·6 clips

Ricky O'Donnell argues Jaden Ivey threw away a guaranteed $10 million contract — and likely a $30-40 million deal — by staying on Instagram instead of going quiet for 13 days.

1. Cash Considerations co-hosts Ricky O'Donnell and Jason Pat record a special episode after Jaden Ivey is waived by the Chicago Bulls. 2. Ricky O'Donnell is a co-host of Cash Considerations alongside Jason Pat; Jason is also an editor at Clutch Points. Jason was recently at Disney Hawaii during the losing stretch. 3. The episode's core thesis is that the Ivey situation is a self-inflicted wound that encapsulates everything wrong with AK Karnishovas's management of the Bulls franchise. 4. Ivey's waiving makes him the first top-five pick released before finishing his rookie contract since Dragan Bender, the No. 4 pick of the 2017 draft, was waived by the Phoenix Suns. 5. Ivey had been giving Instagram sermons for roughly a week, touching on NBA Pride Night, abortion, secular music, and anti-LGBTQ statements, before the Bulls acted within approximately eight hours of a final set of posts. 6. Ricky notes Ivey was also reportedly asking Bulls beat reporters in the locker room whether they had had premarital sex, and Jason Pat adds this had apparently followed Ivey from Detroit to Chicago — Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff made comments about the preaching pattern. 7. Both hosts address the narrative that Ivey was cut for being Christian, arguing the NBA is broadly a Christian environment and many players — including Amadou Bamba — openly express faith without issue. The problem was pressing others and the specific statements made. 8. Ivey also said Catholicism is 'a false religion,' which Ricky notes is notable in Chicago given that head coach Billy Donovan is Catholic and his mother coaches Notre Dame women's basketball. 9. Ricky describes Ivey's Instagram content as reflecting genuine personal crisis: Ivey described a drinking problem, pornography addiction, childhood sexual abuse, and a wife who no longer responds to his texts — suggesting mental health issues beyond the public-facing statements. 10. Ricky argues Ivey threw away a guaranteed $10 million qualifying offer that was reportedly 13 days away from being tendered, along with a probable $30-40 million follow-on contract, by staying on Instagram instead of going quiet. 11. Ivey continued posting after the waiving, including an Instagram Live and apparently a guest appearance on a Turning Point USA-affiliated podcast, calling out Steph Curry as a 'phony' and describing family betrayal. 12. Both hosts give the Bulls credit for acting quickly but criticise AK Karnishovas for issuing only a brief 'detrimental to the team' statement while Billy Donovan and Josh Giddey fielded all media questions — a pattern Joe Cowley described as cowardly in a column Ricky references. 13. Ricky argues AK should be fired on merit independent of the Ivey situation: the Bulls are 29-46, reportedly no current or former Bulls player believes in AK's plan (per a Cowley report), and the Hawks and Kings both fired their GMs for lesser failures in the same year. 14. Jason adds the Bulls also lost a draft pick in the Kobe White situation during a deadline that was already embarrassing, and that AK has been in the job for six years with the team consistently bad and embarrassing. 15. Billy Donovan's exit is discussed as likely inevitable: the hosts say there is 'too much smoke' and Billy appears frustrated by the lack of front office alignment — specifically that management never told him to play younger players over veterans like Collin Sexton. 16. Ricky floats the idea of offering Billy Donovan the GM role in a Brad Stevens-style arrangement, but says it would require significantly more investment in scouts, analytics, and development staff than ownership has historically provided. 17. As a college coaching candidate, North Carolina is discussed as a potential destination for Donovan — Ricky notes Donovan won back-to-back national titles at Florida and once accepted the Orlando Magic job before reneging to return to Florida. 18. Leonard Miller is identified as the one development positive from the season: a plus-6.5 net rating since joining the team, 21/6/4 against the Spurs, and strong activity metrics (offensive rebounding, 50-50 balls) despite a slow and awkward jumper. 19. Both hosts recommend the Bulls decline Miller's team option and instead lock him up on a multi-year team-friendly deal at $7-8 million per year while he is still 22 turning 23 in November. 20. The episode is recorded with Ricky visibly ill and admits he has not been watching Bulls games closely; the tone is resigned and darkly comedic, with frequent expressions of disbelief at ownership's inaction.

As heard by us

A blunt Bulls check-in that mixes a goofy win, roster debate, and front-office frustration.

This Bulls episode feels like a therapy session with a box score attached. The hosts bounce from a goofy win over the Houston Rockets to roster comparisons, a college basketball side trip, and then right back to the same Bulls frustration.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a Bulls check that starts with one silly Rockets win and ends in a Leonard Miller debate.

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