WASHINGTON — The Chicago Bulls are not giving up one aspect of their current infrastructure.
President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf spoke mostly about change Tuesday after the firing a day earlier of executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley. But he also reserved the final lines of his opening remarks for one decisive edict.
“I want to be very clear,” Reinsdorf said. “We want Billy (Donovan) to continue to be the coach of the Chicago Bulls.”
The respect between Bulls ownership and Donovan has been a rare throughline for the last six years. Despite posting a losing record in Chicago, Donovan has inspired deep loyalty at all levels of the organization for his work ethic, attention to detail and player-first mentality.
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The Bulls are committed to Donovan. Now it’s time to test whether Donovan is ready to recommit to the Bulls.
At the trade deadline, Donovan set a date to sit down with Michael and Jerry Reinsdorf after the season to discuss the future of the Bulls and how he fits into it. He remained committed to that promise even as his name was connected to North Carolina’s coaching job, a coveted position that represented a prime opportunity to return to college basketball.
Donovan said the firing of Karnišovas and Eversley won’t affect his approach to his offseason decision. He described his relationship with ownership as “really, really” good. But until the season ends Sunday — and until that meeting occurs — Donovan said he can’t answer any questions about the future.
“I signed a contract and made a commitment to the Chicago Bulls,” he said. “I’m very, very blessed and fortunate to be here. I don’t take the job lightly. They’re hard to come by, and being able to work with a special ownership group means a lot to me.
“So I just wanted to fulfill my obligation to the best of my ability at the end of the season to be able to sit down and have those conversations.”
Donovan upheld this same rigid dedication even after the Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention. It didn’t matter if the games meant nothing in terms of the postseason. He didn’t want to abandon his post.
According to an ESPN report, Donovan’s unwillingness to consider a job change until after the NBA season caused North Carolina to divert its attention to different prospects, ultimately hiring former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone. If that’s the case, Donovan said, he doesn’t mind.
“Sometimes the NBA schedule doesn’t coincide … with the college basketball calendar,” he said. “I’m OK with that. I’ve said from the beginning, I am going to coach all 82 games if I’m healthy and able to do it. That’s my responsibility and that’s important to me.”
This scheduled meeting with ownership has become a clear crossroad for the Bulls. Donovan hopes the conversation will answer a series of key questions: How do we all see this going forward? What is the direction? How do we build the team back to a position where we can compete at the highest level?
Donovan isn’t asking for an elevated role or a promotion to the front office. But he does want to feel like the team reflects his fundamental beliefs in roster building and player development.
“I’ve always been a believer that when there (are) decisions that are made above my head, I’m going to march forward,” Donovan said. “When there are opportunities to voice my opinion or give thoughts, I try to do that as much as I can.
“I want to help the organization. I think I can do that. But I’m not somebody that has ever been going to overstep my bounds unless I’m asked.”
Reinsdorf suggested he would be open to supplying Donovan with greater executive influence and access if requested. He’s not worried about accompanying any shift with a title change, mostly because that type of formality doesn’t matter to Donovan.
For now, Donovan isn’t interested in assuming a general manager role. If that ever changed, Reinsdorf said he would hear the coach out. But in the meantime, ownership wants to create an environment in which Donovan is empowered — and regularly encouraged — to speak his mind about the team’s decision-making.
“When we hired Billy, I think what was really important to him at that time was that he did have input in the organization, in the players, in terms of acquisitions,” Reinsdorf said. “Obviously a coach is not going to get too involved when it comes to the draft because they haven’t watched these players, but we’d be crazy not to want Billy’s input about player acquisition for players throughout the league.
“Billy will be involved. I probably will push Billy to be more involved.”
This increased input means a new primary basketball executive would have to align at some level with Donovan’s philosophies. For instance, Reinsdorf noted Donovan’s severe aversion to tanking, saying he believes the coach would have left Chicago if asked to lose games on purpose.
While that answer lacked some nuance — there are many ways to “tank” without throwing games outright — it reflected an ethos that is aligned between Donovan and ownership. It stands to reason that any executive paired with Donovan also would be expected to oppose tanking on principle.
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Reinsdorf said he doesn’t believe Donovan will need much time to make his decision, which means the Bulls can plan to begin their executive search next week — with or without the coach. But they hope this next step will be taken in stride with Donovan.
“If I interview someone,” Reinsdorf said, “and they’re not sold on Billy — if they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach, if they’re not sold on a person who’s won championships in college, who’s gone deep in the playoffs with Oklahoma City, who I believe with the Chicago Bulls, given the team that he was given, achieved really good results — if someone’s not interested in Billy as our coach … then they’re probably not the right candidate for us.”
For now, Donovan is providing more questions than answers.
He hasn’t done much to tip his hand in the weeks since the trade deadline or in the days since the dismissal of Karnišovas and Eversley. He speaks often about plans for developing players such as Matas Buzelis. He clearly thinks deeply about the team’s future.
But Donovan also has been open about the fact he doesn’t aim to remain with an organization that can’t begin winning again.
“I just know the last four years, we have not won at a high level,” he said. “I want to win at a high level. I want to be a part of it. The organization deserves that. … Everybody’s got to put their heads together and figure out: How do we go about doing that? And what is the timetable?”
Ownership’s answers to those questions will set the course for Donovan and the Bulls as they navigate another treacherous turning point for the franchise.