Chicago Bulls Closing In On Finalists For Head Coaching Job

The Chicago Bulls have cast a wide net in their coaching search to replace Jim Boylen, and they’re in the process of narrowing down their initial list to a group of finalists, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Final interviews are expected to be conducted soon.

This latest report states that Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson have had strong interviews.

The 44-year-old Unseld seems to be gaining momentum with his Nuggets making a run to the Western Conference Finals. Unseld is in charge of Denver’s defense, which has shown massive improvement after a disastrous stretch to end the regular season in the bubble and to start the playoffs against the Utah Jazz. The Nuggets figured things out against the Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers, and they did an admirable job in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers after a tough Game 1.

New Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has experience working with Unseld after coming over from Denver. Unseld has cheerleaders in Nuggets president Tim Connelly and head coach Michael Malone, who have both vouched for his head coaching candidacy. Nuggets star Jamal Murray has also praised Unseld.

Out of these named candidates in this report, Unseld is the only one still coaching in the playoffs. Perhaps Karnisovas knows he wants Unseld and is waiting for the Nuggets’ playoff run to be over before making an announcement, though there is precedent for the Bulls hiring a coach still working in the playoffs. In 2010, Tom Thibodeau agreed to be Bulls coach while he was an assistant for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, with the official announcement finally coming afterward.

Unseld very well could be the frontrunner for the job at this point, but nothing is set in stone. Udoka was an early favorite for the gig, and he reportedly made a strong impression in his interview. Even considering the Sixers’ failures this season, the 43-year-old is a strong candidate as a former player who can build relationships. New Bulls general manager Marc Eversley worked with Udoka in Philadelphia after the assistant spent seven seasons on Gregg Popovich’s staff with the San Antonio Spurs.

Ham is another former player with a strong résumé as an assistant coach. The 47-year-old joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 after time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks. He also coached in the D-League before that. While the Bucks’ coaching staff didn’t cover itself in glory in the playoffs, that shouldn’t torpedo Ham’s candidacy.

Finally, Atkinson was lauded for the job he did developing the Brooklyn Nets into a franchise that was able to attract Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency. Atkinson apparently didn’t mesh with Durant and Irving, resulting in his departure from Brooklyn, but the Bulls are in a position that would seem to make sense for the 53-year-old as a rebuilding team with a number of young players in need of development.

Chicago could wind up with other candidates on its list of finalists. Former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan and Miami Heat assistant Dan Craig are intriguing names. If the hire is ultimately one of these four men, though, it would be hard to find fault in it.