Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik interviewed for the Chicago Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations job on Monday, The Salt Lake Tribune has confirmed.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.
Zanik conducted a video interview with executives from the Bulls, who will be moving longtime decision-makers John Paxson and Gar Forman into advisory roles.
Last May, the Jazz made a couple of front-office moves of their own, with Dennis Lindsey promoted to Utah’s executive VP of basketball ops, and Zanik made the full general manager. Those moves were done with the intent of keeping Zanik in-house, as he had interviewed for the Philadelphia 76ers’ GM post last season.
“This is about the organization and the group, and, you know, we have a very collaborative process here that involves all aspects of the organization when we have decisions that come up,” Zanik said when meeting with local media the day after the announcement was made.
However, should Zanik get the Bulls job, it would give him full decision-making authority for a franchise, something he was expecting to get when he was made the Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant GM and general manager-in-waiting in 2016.
Zanik began his career in basketball as a player agent, first with Priority Sports and Entertainment, then with ASM Sports. He joined the Jazz in 2013 as an assistant general manager, joined the Bucks for the ’16-17 season, and returned to the Jazz the next year following an ownership change in Milwaukee.
