In the latest reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Sacramento Kings, the Chicago Bulls have hired former team great Toni Kukoc to a role in the front office as a special advisor.
The Croatian Sensation will advise Bulls president and COO Michael Reinsdorf, the team announced in an official press release on Monday.
“Toni will work across the organization and his duties will be wide-ranging,” said Reinsdorf of the hiring. “He will bring valuable perspective that comes with experience to many areas, whether it is relating to the international players on our team or sharing what it means to be a Chicago Bull when talking to partners and fans. Toni will be a strong representative of both the team’s legacy and its future.”
“It is a thrill and an honor to again be a part of the team that helped define my basketball career here in the United States and in Chicago,” said Kukoc in his own statement. “The Bulls have become my extended family, and I am really looking forward to the future and being a Bull for life.”
The sweet-shooting lefty played seven seasons in Chicago, averaging 14.0 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, and 4.2 assists per game. Kukoc picked up the 1996 Sixth Man of the Year Award as a Bull and won three championships there, playing a key role off the bench in the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996-1998.
Chicago appears to be taking a page out of the book of the Sacramento Kings who have given former team legend Vlade Divac full control of their front office and have offered another one, Peja Stojakovic, a full-time front office gig as well. Though Chicago isn’t giving Kukoc quite that much power, the similarities are still worth nothing. Make all the jokes about them you want, but could the dysfunctional Kings be becoming trendsetters on the NBA landscape?
It remains to be seen if Scottie Pippen, who has served in a similar role for the Bulls since 2012, will sulk on the bench in protest of Kukoc’s hiring.
H/T Real GM
Image Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
