The NBA has hired Arturas Karnisovas as a consultant for its European project, which is tentatively called NBA Europe, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Karnisovas was the Bulls‘ head of basketball operations for the past six seasons until he was dismissed by the team in April. He previously worked as a Nuggets executive and had a long international playing career before that, including winning a pair of bronze medals with the Lithuanian national team at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

The 55-year-old will have a broad range of responsibilities in his new role, sources tell Vardon, including advising commissioner Adam Silver and his top lieutenants on “governance and game rules for NBA Europe, how to identify and recruit talent, how to create pathways for players into the new league and potentially from the new league to the NBA, and how to expand the continent’s already strong youth player development model.”

The NBA’s Board of Governors plan to review the second round of bids from prospective NBA Europe teams on Tuesday, according to Vardon, who hears planning for the proposed league is in its “final stages,” with a projected launch of October 2027.

As Vardon details, the NBA has received bids from a variety of potential owners for NBA Europe, including several EuroLeague teams. Prospective clubs will have also have to pay an entry fee to join NBA Europe. The NBA and the EuroLeague continue to discuss a potential merger, Vardon notes.

There are expected to be 12 permanent member teams of NBA Europe, Vardon writes, with four additional clubs who can qualify by performing well in FIBA tournaments and in their domestic leagues.