After a year that was filled with a complete overhaul in the front office, the Chicago Bulls made another big move in their head coaching position. Billy Donovan comes in after two lack lusters years of former interim head coach Jim Boylen. Boylen’s tenure was filled with bad rotations and tense relationships between the players and the Coach, much notably with Bulls star Zach LaVine. Billy Donovan has built a reputation of doing more with less, which had earned him a Coach of the Year candidacy. Let’s see the pros, cons, and the outcome of next season for the Chicago Bulls.
The Hire of New Head Coach Billy Donovan
The Pros
One of the pros that come with Billy Donovan is his work with veteran players. Donovan has worked with players like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul from last year. Along with that came with the development of young talent, and we saw this with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander last year. With the ton of young talent that the Bulls have along with the veteran leadership with Zach LaVine, Donovan has a lot to work with. Donovan also brings stability in situations that they didn’t have with Boylen.
The Cons
When it comes to Cons, Billy Donovan has little to none of them. One con that people can say about him is his recent playoff success. In his last four years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his team lost out of the first round every single year. This doesn’t mean that he hasn’t had playoff success, he’s made it as far as the Conference Finals. This could show his leadership in times of pressure, and nothing is more high pressure than playoff time.
The Outlook
A big question for the Bulls is how Billy Donovan will do in his first season. With Donovan, we will definitely see a lot more team morale and camaraderie. We could see a better relationship between the players and the coach, which leads to more effort on the floor. We can also see better rotations and better development with the young players such as Coby White, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. From the way it looks on paper, we could definitely see them rise up to a borderline playoff team and a step forward from Zach LaVine. That potential improvement can also lead them to become a big free-agent market, and they could sign another star to go along with LaVine.
Final Thoughts
On paper, this looks to be a slam dunk hire for the Chicago Bulls organization. They bring in an experienced coach that has worked with superstars and knows how to develop talent. The Chicago Bulls haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 and haven’t won a playoff series since 2015. With a new front office and a new coach, there looks like there’s some stability that this organization hasn’t seen in a long time. There’s a strong belief that there will be some improvement with the team this season, which could make them a big free-agent market. With what they have in place, the future looks bright in Chicago.
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