Bulls snag big name in search for coach, hire Donovan
CHICAGO » Billy Donovan wasn’t on the market for long — hardly a shocker given he’s won everywhere he’s coached. That he’s headed to Chicago might be a surprise, only because big and bold moves have been few and far between for the team. Then again, these aren’t the same old Bulls.
Chicago struck it big Tuesday, hiring Donovan and landing one of the top candidates on the market to lead a rebuilding team with an overhauled front office.
Donovan, 55, spent the past five seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He replaces Jim Boylen, who was fired after the Bulls finished 22-43 and were one of the eight teams that didn’t qualify for the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World.
In a statement, Donovan thanked ownership and said he’s looking forward to working with new executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
“I’m excited to partner with Arturas as we work together on behalf of this historic franchise,” he said.
The Bulls came into the season with their sights set on a playoff spot. They were 11th in the Eastern Conference when play was stopped in March and decided they needed new leadership.
Chicago hired Karnisovas as executive vice president of basketball operations in April out of Denver’s front office and shifted John Paxson into an advisory role. The Bulls also brought in general manager Marc Eversley to replace the fired Gar Forman, and they let Boylen go last month.
Donovan went 243-157 as coach of the Thunder and reached the playoffs each year. He was a finalist for Coach of the Year this season after his team outperformed expectations and pushed the Houston Rockets to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. But with his contract expiring, the Thunder announced two weeks ago he would not return, saying it was a mutual decision.
Before his time with the Thunder, Donovan coached for 19 seasons at the University of Florida, winning two NCAA titles.
The Bulls are counting on Donovan to give them a lift after the team missed the postseason for the fourth time in five years.
Silver: A later NBA season may disrupt Olympic plans
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. » NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said his “best guess” is that next season will not start until at least January, plus acknowledged that the later-thanusual schedule could mean top U.S. men’s players miss next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
Silver, a guest in a series of panel discussions on CNN, did not indicate that any decisions are finalized. The league was originally hoping for a Dec. 1 start to next season, then shifted its focus to the chance of a late December start, and now the target has apparently moved again.
“I continue to believe that we’re going to be better off getting into January,” Silver said in a discussion with Bob Costas during part of the “Citizen by CNN” event. “The goal for us next season is to play a standard season ... an 82game season and playoffs. And further, the goal would be to play games in home arenas in front of fans, but there’s still a lot that we need to learn.”
The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics are set to begin July 23 and run through Aug. 8 — if those games are held. Final qualifying rounds for the 24 teams still bidding for the four remaining spots in the 12team men’s basketball field would begin in June.
“There are a lot of great U.S. players, and we may be up against a scenario where the top 15 NBA players aren’t competing in the Olympics, but other great American players are competing,” Silver said. “And, obviously, there are many NBA players who participate in the Olympics for other countries. That’s something we’re going to have to work through.”