While the Indiana Pacers, and the rest of the NBA, are waiting out a league suspension, the Chicago Bulls are preparing for a major front office shakeup.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that the Bulls are going to interview candidates for an open basketball executive position that will have “full authority on front office decisions.” Less than an hour later, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic reported that the Bulls will look to interview Indiana Pacers GM Chad Buchanan as a part of their search to fill the position.

“The Bulls, led by president and COO Michael Reinsdorf, have zeroed in on four preliminary executives across the league. Sources tell The Athletic they are Toronto GM Bobby Webster, Denver GM Arturas Karnisovas, Indiana GM Chad Buchanan,” wrote Mayberry in an accompanying article.

Buchanan has been with a few teams around the league prior to his tenure with Indiana. He first spent a decade with the Trail Blazers, performing multiple roles along the way. For a brief moment, he was the interim General Manager and decision maker in Portland. Later, he was hired by the Hornets to be their assistant General Manager. He worked in Charlotte for three seasons, where then GM Rich Cho was excited about adding his scouting background to the front office.

“[Chad] will add another dimension to our basketball operations department with his extensive scouting and player evaluation experience,” Cho said. Buchanan also worked under Cho in Portland, replacing him as acting GM in 2011.

Prior to Cho, Kevin Pritchard was the man in charge for the Trail Blazers. Pritchard, now the President of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers, hired Buchanan to be the Pacers GM back in 2017, right before a pivotal offseason for the blue and gold.

“I know Chad from when I was at Portland and I thought back then he was extremely sharp and gifted when it comes to talent and what teams need to improve. I'm very pleased we can add someone of his caliber and look forward to working with him. He is very well respected and will fit into the culture we have here,” Pritchard said in a Pacers press release.

Both Cho and Pritchard hired Buchanan after working with him in Portland. That suggests he leaves a strong impression on his coworkers. Which is perhaps why the Bulls are so interested in bringing him in to their front office, where K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports he is “a top target.”

Cleveland Cavaliers Magasin，Buchanan had an up-and-down tenure as the acting GM in Portland. In his lone draft, the organization selected Nolan Smith and Jon Diebler. Diebler never played in the NBA and, despite being chosen in the first round, Smith only played in 84 career games. On draft night, he traded for Raymond Felton. None of those moves worked out the way the Blazers front office wanted.

However, after a lockout period, Buchanan turned things around. He brought in Jamal Crawford in free agency on a deal that provided Portland future flexibility while giving them a strong scorer; Crawford finish third on the team in points per game that season. He also added some cheap depth pieces, keeping the powder dry on the Trail Blazers cap sheet was clearly a focus.

On the trade front, Buchanan was nearly perfect. He sent away Gerald Wallace in a deal that netted Portland a first-round pick, which was later used to acquire Damian Lillard. Around the same time, he flipped Marcus Camby for two under performing former top-10 picks in Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet as well as a second-round draft selection that was used to select Will Barton. Those moves were clearly successful solely based on who the Blazers chose with the picks, but getting a look at two recent lottery picks is also a savvy move for a rebuilding team, even if neither player amounted to much.

“[The Wallace trade] was very compelling to us,” Buchanan said, “because not only does it give us more flexibility in free agency, but we also acquire a very attractive first-round draft pick.”

In Indiana, on top of being a respected voice in the front office, Buchanan helped set a strong culture for the team. “We’re looking at the character,” Buchanan said of Aaron Holiday after the Pacers drafted him in 2018, a quote that sums up the values he looks for in players. Strong character is important.

The Bulls like all of that history, which is why they want to interview Buchanan to run their front office. He has scouting experience, decision making experience, and culture setting experience. Chicago could use all of that, and Pacers GM Chad Buchanan can bring all of it should he be hired.