Arturas Karnisovas got exactly what he deserved on Monday.

Not what the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations hoped for when the balls finished bouncing around in the hopper for the NBA’s annual draft lottery and definitely not what Karnisovas wanted to see happen, but this is what he earned.

He made that very clear throughout the 2024-25 season, and even before that.

The idea of tanking to increase draft lottery odds is just not in Karnisovas’ DNA, even when there is a can’t-miss prospect like Duke’s Cooper Flagg waving in the wind as the unanimous No. 1 overall pick.

Instead, he said several times that the focus was on “competitive integrity” and looking to play meaningful games in order to develop talent.

All that mindset earned the Bulls was a third-straight play-in loss to Miami last month, however, and on Monday the reward for that was the No. 12 overall pick. The exact spot the Bulls had the highest odds (85.23%) of landing, especially after they finished the regular season 15-5 like it was some sort of moral victory.

Not that Karnisovas was relying on it playing out any differently.

“We will look at every opportunity to improve this roster,” Karnisovas said last month when discussing the June draft and upcoming offseason. “I think we took right steps with this group, and I think we are on the right path. Again, there are small wins this season with the improvement of our players and playing meaningful games and teaching them what goes into winning.

“There’s a lot to like about this young roster.”

Unfortunately, there could have been a lot more.