Paul Sullivan: Can the Reinsdorfs hire the right combo to end Bulls fans’ malaise?
CHICAGO — Billy Donovan is gone after six seasons as the Chicago Bulls coach, and the search for his replacement begins. But first things first, as Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf are busy sifting through candidates for the next head of basketball operations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who listed several league executives and one super-agent the Reinsdorfs plan to interview. We can only assume they were all “sold on” Donovan as coach, since Michael said they wouldn’t hire anyone who wasn’t a Billy fan.
But now that Donovan has taken himself out of the picture, what will the next Bulls honcho be looking for in a new coach? Someone who can rebuild the team and develop young players, show patience, communicate with the media, get along with management and help improve the team’s image with a skeptical fan base that doesn’t trust ownership. In other words, they’ll need another version of Billy Donovan, perhaps a younger and cheaper model.
We got only a brief glimpse of what Donovan could do with a roster full of talent, back during the winter of 2021-22 when DeMar DeRozan was “King of the Fourth,” Lonzo Ball was quarterbacking the offense, Alex Caruso was evolving from cult hero to defensive star and Ayo Dosunmu was a precocious rookie. The Bulls suddenly had an identity, and the future looked bright. We all know what happened next — the career-altering injury to Ball, Grayson Allen’s cheap shot flagrant foul on Caruso in Milwaukee that fractured Caruso’s right wrist, and the eventual downfall from Eastern Conference leader to sixth-seed with a 7-15 finish, followed by a quick, first-round playoff loss to the Bucks.
That was their only playoff appearance during Donovan’s Bulls’ tenure. A recurring theme over the last four seasons was a lack of movement by Artūras Karnišovas to alter the direction, resulting in three play-in teams and this year’s dumping of assets at the trade deadline to better their odds at a top draft pick. After a 51-loss season, Donovan’s teams wound up a combined 34 games under .
500 the last four years, though he was absolved from any blame by Michael, and Jerry reiterated in Tuesday’s press release there “was never any question” they wanted Donovan to return. But that probably would’ve meant more losing for Donovan, and with “Hall of Fame member” on his resume, who needs that? He deserves a chance at going out on top, and that seemed unlikely with another rebuild underway.
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