Bulls Doing ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Billy Donovan (Report) ...Middle East

It took six years of mediocrity and irrelevance, but it finally happened. The AKME regime is over.

But there is still one more name tied to that era, their head coach, Billy Donovan.

And while you would assume he’d be the next one shown the door, the Bulls have another curveball to throw your way.

The Chicago Bulls want to keep Billy Donovan

According to Joe Cowley, after the firing of Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley, their main priority now is to do “whatever it takes” to keep Billy Donovan long-term with the franchise.

Per our guy @JCowleyHoops the Bulls first priority is to do whatever it takes to keep Billy Donovan long term with the franchise.

There isn’t much clarity yet on what that actually looks like. Is it simply keeping him as the head coach on the sidelines? Or could it be something bigger, something that shifts his role entirely, giving him a larger say in the direction of the franchise?

Like… with the news that the Bulls cleaned house on Monday, could Donovan potentially move upstairs and hire a head coach to replace himself? (More on that later…)

Donovan had been heavily linked to the UNC Tar Heels job, a position that made a lot of sense on paper. A return to college basketball, where he built a Hall of Fame resume and won multiple national championships, would have been a natural pivot, especially given how his NBA tenure has unfolded.

However, as Cowley noted, Donovan’s availability wouldn’t have come until after the regular season — which left North Carolina in a tough spot with the transfer portal opening.

Malone to UNC changes nothing in the Billy Donovan process … the Sun-Times wrote he was not going to leave the Bulls before the season ended, and with the college transfer portal opening up tomorrow, Tar Heels were fighting the clock.

That timing wasn’t going to work for the Tar Heels. Instead of waiting, they pivoted and hired former Denver Nuggets head coach and NBA champion Mike Malone, effectively shutting the door on a logical next gig for Donovan in the event he leaves the Bulls.

With that option now off the table, the landscape looks very different. There aren’t many high-profile coaching vacancies left in college basketball, and only a handful of intriguing openings remain in the NBA.

Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers may be monitoring the situation, but Chicago still holds leverage here — especially after signing Donovan to an extension just last offseason, when the New York Knicks were aggressively exploring head coaching options.

As a head coach, Donovan’s resume is a tale of two levels. In college, he’s a two-time NCAA national champion and one of the most respected coaches of his era. In the NBA, though, the success hasn’t translated in the same way. He left the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 2019–20 season, in part to avoid being tied to a full-scale rebuild. The Bulls, at the time, presented an opportunity to win sooner rather than later.

Fast forward six years, and that plan hasn’t materialized. The Bulls have made just one playoff appearance in that span, and are now staring down the beginning of yet another rebuild. Meanwhile, the Thunder, the very team Billy Donovan left, have completed their rebuild and emerged as one of the premier teams in the league, even capturing a championship along the way.

That contrast only adds to the complexity of this situation. The idea of a 60-year-old Donovan leading a rebuilding project doesn’t naturally align with his career arc, nor does it fully align with Chicago’s need to reset and build something sustainable from the ground up.

However, there is one scenario where this could make both sides happy, not necessarily the fans.

Keeping Billy Donovan, But In What Role?

If Chicago is truly committed to keeping him in the organization, the offer will likely have to go beyond just money. It could mean more control, more influence, and potentially more power than he has ever had in his NBA career.

Joe Cowley also reported an alternative path:

“The other option that was recently reported by the Sun-Times was Donovan stays with the Bulls, and is given a choice of coaching and building a new front office out to his liking or takes the Brad Stevens journey and moves into a head front job.”

That kind of structure would give Donovan a direct hand in player acquisition and roster building, allowing him to shape the team in a way that aligns with his coaching philosophy. Instead of adapting to a roster built by others, he would be instrumental in defining the direction of the franchise, both on and off the court.

It’s an intriguing idea, and one that could appeal to both sides. Donovan, known for his competitive nature, may still prefer coaching, but having a larger say in the bigger picture could be a compelling middle ground. For the Bulls, it would provide continuity while also introducing a new vision, something they’ve clearly lacked over the past six years.

We’ve seen what Billy Donovan is as a coach. We have a clear understanding of his strengths, his tendencies, and his limitations at the NBA level.

But as an executive? That’s still a complete unknown.

There are small hints in his past, his role in recruiting and building championship teams at Florida suggests he understands talent evaluation and roster construction at a high level. But the NBA is a different landscape entirely, with different pressures, different timelines, and far more complex decision-making layers.

If the Bulls choose this path, they’re not just deciding to keep their head coach. They’re making a much bigger bet.

They’re betting that Donovan can be more than what he’s shown so far.

They’re betting that he can help lead a franchise out of the very situation he once tried to avoid.

And most importantly, they’re betting that giving him more power won’t just maintain the status quo, but finally break it.

At the end of the season, both Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf will have a meeting with Donovan to understand what his position is and how they can keep him around.

Hence then, the article about bulls doing whatever it takes to keep billy donovan report was published today ( Tuesday 07/04/2026 - 12:03 AM ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

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