As the Bulls embark on a search for their next head of basketball operations, CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf made it clear during a video press conference on Tuesday that he doesn’t want to lose head coach Billy Donovan — and that the team likely wouldn’t be a good match for an executive who wants to make a coaching change.
“If I interview someone and they’re not sold on Billy, they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach, they’re not sold on a person who’s won championships in college, who’s gone deep in the playoffs with Oklahoma City,” Reinsdorf said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “… If Billy wants to be our coach and someone’s not interested in that, then they’re probably not the right candidate for us.”
While the Bulls want to retain Donovan, the veteran coach will have a say in that decision too. As Collier details, Bulls ownership is scheduled to meet with Donovan right after the regular season ends to discuss his future. On Tuesday, Reinsdorf suggested he expects a resolution – one way or the other – relatively quickly, adding that he’d like Donovan to be more involved in personnel decisions if he sticks with the team.
“I don’t think it’s going to take Billy a long time to come to a conclusion on what he wants to do,” Reinsdorf said, according to Andrew Seligman of The Associated Press. “I don’t think the draft or any of that’s going to come into play. The season ends next week. We’ll sit down with Billy as soon as possible, and we’ll find out where his head’s at.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Reinsdorf confirmed on Tuesday that the Bulls are employing a search firm to lead the hunt for a new top front office executive and said the organization wants to cast a wide net for potential candidates. As Collier observes, the Bulls didn’t use a firm in 2020 when they hired Arturas Karnisovas, and they had to conduct that interview process via video calls during the early days of COVID-19 — Reinsdorf didn’t meet Karnisovas in person until after he’d been hired.
- Describing his ideal candidate to run the front office, Reinsdorf said he wants someone who is “process-oriented” and isn’t afraid to “pull the trigger” on personnel moves, per Seligman. Strong communication skills are also a must, Reinsdorf added. “I want someone who’s really strong in communication not just internally within the organization, but also externally when he’s talking to people like you, talking to our fans,” he said. “I think that’s really important. What are we trying to accomplish? What is the plan? Our fans have a right to understand what we’re trying to accomplish so I think that’s incredibly, incredibly important.”
- Although the Bulls signaled with their trade deadline moves in February that they’re in rebuilding mode, Reinsdorf stated on Tuesday that he isn’t a fan of tanking, as Collier relays. “It’s unfair to the coach. It’s unfair to the players. It’s actually unfair to our fans,” Reinsdorf said. “Sure, there are some fans, many fans who might say, ‘Lose games on purpose, tank, do whatever you can to hopefully win the lottery.’ But there are a lot of fans that go to the games who aren’t there to see us get blown out every game and who want to see us compete.”
- Despite his aversion to tanking, Reinsdorf indicated that he wants the Bulls’ front office to have an eye toward the long term rather than focusing on short-term success. “Going forward, it’s about sustainability,” Reinsdorf said. “We want to build this for the long term. I don’t want to be just good for one or two years. I want it to be year in and year out, we have a chance to be competitive and win.”
- Second-year forward Matas Buzelis, who figures to be at the center of the team’s plans going forward, is making it a priority to bulk up and add muscle this offseason, as he tells Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I mean, look at me. I’m skinny as hell,” Buzelis said. “I definitely have to add strength. Your body’s a temple, so you really want to take care of it.”
And this is why the Bulls fortunes will never change, when you have Reinsdorf interfering with basketball decisions. He’s literally hamstringing front office personnel he hasn’t even hired yet by telling them whatever vision they have for the future, whatever grand plan they have to make the Bulls a winner, it can’t include any change of head coach… even if that front office person thinks that Donovan wouldn’t be a good fit for the team they have in mind. And any front office candidates that don’t want to be saddled with Donovan? They need not apply. So Reinsdorf is also excluding options that may include the perfect person to bring the Bulls back to prominence.
Think that the Reinsdorf family doesn’t have a history of meddling and/or interfering with whomever was hired to run their franchises. If anything, the Reinsdorfs have been too patient and trusting.
There are multiple ways for a ship’s owner to sink a ship. The owner can actively punch holes in the ship’s hull to take on water or the owner can hire a captain not up to the job and allow them to keep colliding with icebergs. “Meddling” might not be the ideal verb in this instance, but “incompotence” definitely applies as a descriptor. Through some ratio of action and inaction, this team is still taking on water and sinking fast, and Reinsdorf is culpable.
@Chi
please point out where, I’m any of those posts, did Reinsdorf indicate he’s meddling in affairs? And he never said Donovan wouldn’t be fired. He just indicated that tanking wouldn’t be fair to him. It sound like you’re projecting your opinion vs reacting to anything he said.
Well, if you read the entire quote above, Reinsdorf explicitly stated that if the candidate didn’t view Donovan, a championship ship-winning coach in college, as an option, then that exec probably wouldn’t be a fit for the Bulls.
That’s a pretty interesting statement to make before you actually start interviewing candidates, don’t you think?
@KFCF
The direct Reinsdorf quote in the article above from a Collier interview.
“… If Billy wants to be our coach and someone’s not interested in that, then they’re probably not the right candidate for us.”
And, again, in the very first paragraph of the article I’m commenting on:
“CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf made it clear during a video press conference on Tuesday that he doesn’t want to lose head coach Billy Donovan — and that the team likely wouldn’t be a good match for an executive who wants to make a coaching change.”
I’m not projecting anything. I’m responding directly to what’s been reported. Reinsdorf is making it clear Donovan is here to stay and any front office candidates interested in the job need to go along with it.
It’s essential that the Bulls find the best candidate out there to guide this team back to a winning tradition. Reinsdorf, instead, is going to look for the best candidate willing to be saddled with Donovan, and is insisting on his own vision for this team (one where Donovan is the head coach) over that of a front office with the necessary experience and the vision to guide the Bulls successfully… which would likely include a new head coach.
Look Billy is a nice guy, Solid citizen and I have nothing against him except he’s not a good NBA Coach. I don’t know why you would fire the whole FO and then not let him pick his own Head Coach. That’s Chicago Bear 101. They finally did it right and Poles picked Johnson and they won because McCaskey saddled him with Eberlose because they gave Poles the same thing. They had a search firm look for candidates and they told Poles he had his choice between 3 guys so I can imagine what the other 2 looked like. I don’t wanna know. Let the guy pick his Coach and then draft their own players but they better move it along.
I guess Jerry is glad that North Carolina chose Mike Malone
I mean I get it, but feels like lip service. If you get a rockstar gm candidate and a better coach comes up you’re gonna pass? I doubt it.
The Buils may now be the worst franchise in the NBA. The day they draft a skinny player you would think putting muscle on would be first order.
@Hubie
How is that his fault? When you draft a kid when he’s still a teen they usually aren’t filled out. Giannis is a perfect example. Shoot…KD never filled out.
I hate saying this word but yeah I need to say it….forgive me in advance.
MOST RETARDED FRONT OFFICE IN THE WORLD.
There’s no justification to say this PRIOR to actually having candidates that are interested in position. None. This is how you filter out the best candidates. Also, it’s not surprising because Jerry did this with his baseball team and hired Getz immediately after firing Hahn without doing a proper search. We are doomed to stay irrelevant because our front office and our owner cannot function in today’s society as competent owners.
The worst thing about this? Jerry KNOWS this franchise is his cash cow for his future decedents because the apparel and brand is still a global name, he still profits off Jordan’s name and accomplishments while not having ONE to his name after 1998.
Absolutely infuriating to hear this.
1 step forward 6 steps back is the motto of Jerry.
Thanks for the warning…
It’s sad that teams are run by incompetent people who lucked into their positions in life…
So to spell it out for everyone the Reinsdorf’s want a guy who will do what they tell him and keep Donovan, Work for peanuts, Draft people who will be favorable to play in the bad system that Donovan seems to think works in the NBA but doesn’t, Will lie to the press and fans and tell them that all is going to plan and then take the blame when it all fails miserably again. Yeah right. I can see the lines forming on Madison now for that job. That would take a special kind of moron to jump on that. Where does the search firm look for a guy like that? Bellevue?
Well, that didn’t take long for the Bulls to put their foot back in their mouth. Reinsdorfs just need to sell the team to someone who actually cares and wants to win.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with Donovan. I think he’s the least of the problems with the Bulls franchise. But to go on record to say “if you don’t like Billy as our head coach, we’re not gonna bring you in”??? What a dumb comment.
I’m not a Bulls fan so I don’t care what they do. As a basketball fan. Bringing back Billy is a bad move. He’s a .500 coach at best. And hasn’t done anything in Chicago worth talking about in six yrs. They should go full rebuild and find a new coach. Billy should have taken the UNC job. He missed the boat there.
Reinsdork doesn’t understand how to run a professional sports franchise and the whole world knows this. They won’t be able to attract a top executive because he’s a meddling idiot. The owners job is to write the checks and get the hell out of the way. Even James Dolan knew enough to bring in Leon Rose
These takes are hilarious. It’s the complete opposite of reality. You can not like the resindorfs. You can think that they can’t run a sports franchise. But meddling?? I’ve been a Bulls fan for 34 years and in that time they’ve had 3 GM’s. That’s not meddling. Meddling is having 10 different FO’s in 15 years. Maybe they need to meddle.
I mean, look at me. I’m skinny as hell,” Buzelis said. “I definitely have to add strength. Your body’s a temple, so you really want to take care of it.”
This is what I have been saying for yrs here. 19 yr olds don’t get their ManBod til after 24. So you give young talent the time to adjust to the NBA game. It’s insane to give up on players at 22 yrs old.
This is an important draft for Bulls. I would not want Billy to be a part of this. Players have been moving up. And the guard the Bulls should take. Just might not be there. But I have seen some crazy picks lately. And Mara to Bulls has to be one craziest lols. Mara is an NBA talent. He should not be in top 20. And Bulls certainly shouldn’t go for him. I can see Hornets at 16 or Raptors at 17 taking him. Not the Bulls at 9 OMG.
With Acuff and Fleming gone. I can see Mavs taking Brown Jr. Top guards could be gone by time Bulls pick. I’m thinking Brown or Burries. Steinbach is a Forward talent I like. He is big and tough can play on perimeter. Fundamentally sound he has upside in NBA. 9 might be too high for him. I didn’t think Kon should go that high either. It’s looking like Brown or Burries for Bulls.
Still hope for that Blazers pick.
link to sports.yahoo.com
I just saw a Mock Draft that had the Bulls winning the lottery and ending up with the 4th pick and I thought that guy is my new hero. Then he had them picking the wrong guy. So close. LOL
raz you get those two. That is major man. Two NBA talents for sure. With Buzelis and Essengue. Thats a good young core of forwards man. I think Giddey and Burries can work. Burries has excellent size. With his shot. He has a chance to be special.
Mara is crazy right …..
I like Mara, I think he’ll be a top 20 pick now thst his stocked went up, however at 9 when there’s guys who are better suited for us at other key positions is outrageous and lazy research. It’ll be interesting to see where he mocks after the combine but we got 2 months to talk about it!
Raz : i like yaxel but his age….
Burries can be a good choice. Not allstar tallent,but good enough. But bulls need dump some of their guards
I like his game, 23 isnt THAT old. If the kid can play he can play. Thats all that matters. I mean we just witnessed polio Williams have a 20/7/6 game at age 24 in his sixth season so anything is possible and better than that at the moment lmao.
Mara at 9 is hilarious. Tank has Mara at 22 and has us getting Burries at 9. I like Krivas from Arizona. Good size and skill set in RD2. If we end up getting Portland’s pick, I can see them getting Mikal Brown at 9, and Steinbach at 15. It also depends on the NBA draft lottery, nothing is set in stone for any mocks until that is done with.
I mean I have a plan and it’s pretty simple and I can’t wait to see who they actually hire and what that plan looks like.
Bulls have 65 million in cap space.
Trade Okoro, Jones, Williams, And Jalen Smith for whatever I can get, Preferably draft picks because they don’t add payroll.
That adds 46 to 65 and makes it 111 in Cap Space
Re sign whichever one of Sexton or Simons you like better. That takes away around 20 -25 mllion( Just a guess)
Leaves you with Giddey, Buzelis, Miller, Dillingham, Essengue, and either Sexton or Simons.
Re sign Zach Collins for less than 10 million. Any more and just waive goodbye. He’ll have to prove he can stay healthy.
So now you have around 76 million left and 4 draft picks this year( Hopefully)
Now it doesn’t matter who you draft just draft the best players you can find no matter what positions they play.
That gives you 7 players under contract, 4 draft picks, and 75 million to find help with.
Might be a little lean next year but hey you have to start somewhere and this needs to be broken down to the bare bones.
A rasher move might be to flip Giddey which could either bring players, and draft picks and add another 25 to the kitty. That could depend on who they actually draft.
Now I don’t know who is going to be FA yet and neither does anyone else but just because you have it you don’t need to throw it around either. Wait for the right moves.
Now lets watch how fast my plan goes down the crapper.
At least I have one.
Uncle: i like collins except his healty.
im done being a bulls fan. championing a coach who has been w. the team for 6 years with nothing to show
Of all the Mock drafts I’m looking at I haven’t really seen one I like. Assuming the best of all worlds and the Bulls leap into the top 4 and get Portlands pick The best of all worlds for me would be to draft Wagler at 4 and then with 15 or whatever get a C. I could live with Mara I guess but I think I would rather have Quaintance or Morez Johnson there. I don’t think Mara ever becomes more than a B/U but I might be wrong.
Now if they stay at 9 and get Ament and one of the other guys at 14 I would also call that a win.
Other Mocks have them taking the G from Duke in the late 30’s and then with what looks like Denvers second who knows? Just hope for the best.
I think that would be a decent draft possibility.
Now if I get Wagler I can let him play with Giddey and Simons or Sexton per my other post and then decide if they can fit together or not. But I’d give him at least a year to get his feet wet. Now I know Morez Johnson can’t shoot but I also know from watching him he won’t get pushed around either and the Bulls need that more than anything else right now. They need Boards and Rim protection in the worst way and he can do that. Waglers shooting range makes him the most intriguing player in this draft to me. Anybody ever heard of Steph Curry?
Dude you take him over Acuff —. Acuff definitely going top 5. And Flemings right after him. Those are the guards after Peterson. Flemings best pure PG in draft imo. Acuff has star quality man.
Absolutely take Walger.
We will revisit this later lol …. Imo Acuff could be best guard in draft. Wagler has good size. But he will need time to adjust to NBA talent. He’s a baller.
I read yahoo’s mock and the guy said that Acuff is the worst defensive player in the draft. That worries me, especially when we already have Giddey in the backcourt. I rather have Wagler, he was active on the backboard in the FF4 and didnt look like the moment was too big for him.
Knick alfonso anglada: pass with accuf. Played no defense. Fleming is better choice for defense but his 3s… wagler not bad at defense and 3s,but not great too.
How magnificent did they want to stick to the same philosophy that got them to where they are today?
Bulls will never see Acuff in draft. And it’s going to be the 9th pick. Like I said they might lose out on a guard. Especially if Mavs take one. Going to be interesting man. Best place available could be a PF.
Acuff is not for Bulls with Giddey there. And he will go 4th most likely, top 5. You talk about his D. Like Bulls actually play D. His D is a work in progress. He is an elite offensive player. Three level scoring and a playmaker. He has the tools to be a good defender. In NBA its about playing team D.
This is a good report on Acuff. He is young. So he will have to work on his D. The instincts are the same tir O and D. Biggest knick is his size. He has the frame to get stronger. He is Brunson size now. Bigger than AI and Trae. If you are a winner you will play D.
link to si.com
It was fun liking the Bulls in the 90s… But the rot can be traced back to there… As the many documentaries on that era show…
The owners are chespskates… The team will not be relevant until they actually change their focus of profits instead of quality…
But wrong country to talk about that happening… Profits before quality is the law of the land over there…