Former OKC Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan Accepts Chicago Bulls Job

Billy Donovan and the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to mutually part ways exactly two weeks ago. Donovan ultimately decided not to continue with the Thunder due to a lack of direction from the franchise, according to Oklahoma City Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We couldn’t provide him the information on the future direction of the team over the next several seasons to give him the level of clarity that he understandably desires at this stage of his career”

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he will now head to Chicago to be the head coach of the Bulls.

It was reported that as soon as Donovan became available, Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations pursued him agressively as he thought he was the best coach available. In his five seasons as head coach, Oklahoma City went 243-157 (.608) and made the playoffs in every single season under Donovan.

Wojnarowski reports that the Bulls front office was able to sell Donovan on a on the fact that they had a young, talented roster that he would be able to lead over the next several seasons. With this unique opporotinty, the former Thunder Head Coach will have the chance to potentially take the Bulls to their first playoff appearance since the 2016-17 NBA season in which they went 41-41 on the year.

Although Billy Donovan was able to find a new home in just two weeks, the Oklahoma City Thunder are still seeking a replacement for him. While there haven’t been any rumored candidates that the Thunder have looked into for the job, this will be a huge decision for the future of the franchise as they look to build around their young, key pieces in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, and Lu Dort.