LAS VEGAS — The NBA hired former Lithuanian star and Chicago Bulls vice president Artūras Karnišovas as its consultant for building NBA Europe, according to sources with direct knowledge of the hiring who were granted anonymity to discuss a personnel matter that had not been formally announced.Karnišovas, 55, will advise NBA commissioner Adam Silver and his deputies 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, those sources said. He will be a liaison between the NBA and the new European competition, NBA Europe and NBA teams, and FIBA, the international governing body for basketball that is partnering with Silver to stand up his new league.The NBA Board of Governors will review the second round of bids from potential NBA Europe owners on Tuesday and consider next steps. Those sources who disclosed the Karnišovas hiring said the NBA and FIBA are making tremendous progress and are in the final stages ahead of their planned October 2027 launch, and there could be further action by the NBA Board of Governors during its annual summer meetings in Las Vegas this week.