Billy Donovan to become Bulls head coach

Gustavus Adolphus

?‍♂️?
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
44,602
Liked Posts:
39,207
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  2. Villanova Wildcats
It's make or break time for our "core" if you want to call it that. Lauri will be entering his 4th year, Wendell his 3rd. Zach is established but can he translate it into winning games? all the answers can be doom and gloom, but its what we have.

Billy being an established coach i think is fit to come in and answer that.
I'm on an island here, but I hope Lauri isn't on this roster past the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.
 

knoxville7

I have the stride of a gazelle
CCS Hall of Fame '22
Joined:
Jul 12, 2013
Posts:
16,818
Liked Posts:
13,352
Location:
The sewers
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Tennessee Volunteers
I'm on an island here, but I hope Lauri isn't on this roster past the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

naa you’re not on an island. the talent is there, but he hasn’t been able to put it together consistently and his defense is horrendous. It’s unfortunate but reality is his time in Chicago is coming to a close I think
 

Crystallas

Three if by air
Staff member
Donator
Joined:
Jun 25, 2010
Posts:
19,901
Liked Posts:
9,618
Location:
Next to the beef gristle mill
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls core is young, not bad. There isn't much in this league that makes a winner out of a young team. You need development, and to develop, you need something to mold. The real question with this 'core', are they still salvageable. Which always leads to the next question, if they are, will they be retain-able for a contract realistic enough to give the staff the options needed to draw matching free agents. And the ways the Bulls are set up, compared to the rest of the league in a similar situation, we're still just ok, not in a great position as of now. But you know, a few solid contracts and that second part changes.
 

Gustavus Adolphus

?‍♂️?
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
44,602
Liked Posts:
39,207
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  2. Villanova Wildcats
naa you’re not on an island. the talent is there, but he hasn’t been able to put it together consistently and his defense is horrendous. It’s unfortunate but reality is his time in Chicago is coming to a close I think
I'm warming up to the idea of drafting James Wiseman if he's there. WCJ is probably better at the 4 anyway, and I don't see how you can keep both him and Lauri.
 

BNB

Moderator
Staff member
Donator
Joined:
Jun 9, 2011
Posts:
14,919
Liked Posts:
7,770
Location:
Chicago
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  2. Oakland Raiders
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
I'm on an island here, but I hope Lauri isn't on this roster past the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

I was hoping they'd include him in some sort of package to trade.
 

Gustavus Adolphus

?‍♂️?
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
44,602
Liked Posts:
39,207
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  2. Villanova Wildcats
Well fuck me running. I thought Lauri was still a fan favorite.
 

clonetrooper264

Retired Bandwagon Mod
Staff member
Donator
Joined:
Apr 11, 2009
Posts:
23,362
Liked Posts:
7,404
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  2. Golden State Warriors
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
This beats my expectations by a fair margin.

The Bulls and to some degree, the city has a reputation issue. There is no way the highest valued *anything* will choose the Bulls over a fair chunk of destinations. I did hope they would have done a better job scouring for the next sleeper coach instead of going so conservative or following the hype-wire for names pumped by agents and glorified blogs.

The next step here is to see if he brings in some great assistants, because that's truly where a team develops high level skills to salvage this roster and give the HC some direction to play with. Mediocre assistants make good head coaches look bad and bad assistants make mediocre head coaches look stupid.
Fair point, let's see who the assistants end up being
 

RacerX

Silicon Valley CA Bears H
Joined:
Aug 21, 2012
Posts:
9,885
Liked Posts:
9,972
Location:
Silicon Valley, CA
It's make or break time for our "core" if you want to call it that. Lauri will be entering his 4th year, Wendell his 3rd. Zach is established but can he translate it into winning games? all the answers can be doom and gloom, but its what we have.

Billy being an established coach i think is fit to come in and answer that.

Here's the real/objective litmus test: if you're an opposing HC or team, and you are facing a team with that core you referenced (Lauri/Wendell/Zach), are you concerned?

Not so much, right?

I like the value and upside of WCJ and Colby and can see them as initial components of a competitive roster, but there are no other plus-value contracts or trade assets on the roster.
 

Songaila

New member
Joined:
Sep 23, 2020
Posts:
1
Liked Posts:
1
Hey everyone, just introducing myself here. Was a big fan of Bulls growing up, also love what AK done in Denver. So decided to join fan forum.
My thoughts in Donovan's hire:
If you think Donovan was not a great choice for the Bulls, because he doesn't have outstanding playoff record with a mediocre Thunder, think of this: Mike Malone made playoffs 2 times in his 6.5 years as NBA head coach. First time made it to the conference finals this year. Guess who built this fun Nuggets team? I think you should trust AK. He hired Malone after bad SAC record, trusted him for another 3 years and look how this is paying off for Denver right now.
 

Diehardfan

Well-known member
Joined:
Jun 10, 2010
Posts:
9,297
Liked Posts:
6,726
Location:
Western Burbs
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
Chuck doesn't like the Donovan signing but not the way you would think.....


Hours after the Bulls hired Billy Donovan to be the team's next head coach, Barkley panned the move from Donovan's perspective on Inside the NBA on TNT (thanks to 670 The Score's Cody Westerlund for the transcription).

"Only two jobs worse than that (the Bulls head coaching job): the captain of the Titanic and my fitness coach," Barkley said.

"They ain't got no good players... He could have waited for a better job."


LOL, I can't honestly say I disagree.....damn, this franchise is an embarrassment.
 

knoxville7

I have the stride of a gazelle
CCS Hall of Fame '22
Joined:
Jul 12, 2013
Posts:
16,818
Liked Posts:
13,352
Location:
The sewers
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Tennessee Volunteers
Chuck doesn't like the Donovan signing but not the way you would think.....


Hours after the Bulls hired Billy Donovan to be the team's next head coach, Barkley panned the move from Donovan's perspective on Inside the NBA on TNT (thanks to 670 The Score's Cody Westerlund for the transcription).

"Only two jobs worse than that (the Bulls head coaching job): the captain of the Titanic and my fitness coach," Barkley said.

"They ain't got no good players... He could have waited for a better job."


LOL, I can't honestly say I disagree.....damn, this franchise is an embarrassment.

this actually gives me hope for the bulls. Chuck is wrong pretty consistently
 

Scoot26

Administrator
Staff member
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 25, 2010
Posts:
39,829
Liked Posts:
29,962
Hey everyone, just introducing myself here. Was a big fan of Bulls growing up, also love what AK done in Denver. So decided to join fan forum.
My thoughts in Donovan's hire:
If you think Donovan was not a great choice for the Bulls, because he doesn't have outstanding playoff record with a mediocre Thunder, think of this: Mike Malone made playoffs 2 times in his 6.5 years as NBA head coach. First time made it to the conference finals this year. Guess who built this fun Nuggets team? I think you should trust AK. He hired Malone after bad SAC record, trusted him for another 3 years and look how this is paying off for Denver right now.
Welcome to the forum!

Yes, Donovan does not have a large enough track record to really make assumptions. He could be a Scott Skiles type coach, or could be something better, only time will tell.

Talent obviously plays a part in all of it too. Mike Malone didn't have much to work with in Sacramento due to the overt dysfunctional franchise they are (hey, kinda like the Bulls have been under GarPax). Much better in Denver, and maybe AK will turn things around here.
 

Gustavus Adolphus

?‍♂️?
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
44,602
Liked Posts:
39,207
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  2. Villanova Wildcats
Here's a good video on some of the concepts Donovan runs offensively. Keep in mind that he had both Durant and Westbrook in these clips. That said, keep your eyes on Ibaka. I'm thinking WCJ and Lauri could do well with some of the things he's run. Again, it helps when you have those two to take defenders away, but Ibaka got some pretty nice looks.

 

knoxville7

I have the stride of a gazelle
CCS Hall of Fame '22
Joined:
Jul 12, 2013
Posts:
16,818
Liked Posts:
13,352
Location:
The sewers
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Tennessee Volunteers
Here's a good video on some of the concepts Donovan runs offensively. Keep in mind that he had both Durant and Westbrook in these clips. That said, keep your eyes on Ibaka. I'm thinking WCJ and Lauri could do well with some of the things he's run. Again, it helps when you have those two to take defenders away, but Ibaka got some pretty nice looks.


ive always been impressed with how they always managed to use Steven Adams effectively as well. imagine wiseman in that role ?
 

Diehardfan

Well-known member
Joined:
Jun 10, 2010
Posts:
9,297
Liked Posts:
6,726
Location:
Western Burbs
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
Here's a good video on some of the concepts Donovan runs offensively. Keep in mind that he had both Durant and Westbrook in these clips. That said, keep your eyes on Ibaka. I'm thinking WCJ and Lauri could do well with some of the things he's run. Again, it helps when you have those two to take defenders away, but Ibaka got some pretty nice looks.


First thing I noticed is that they guys that can pass the ball.....a huge fail on the Bulls. Not everyone sets up at the 3 point line. They get some decent penetration. But as you said Durant and Westbrook can cover a lot of warts....they both get good shots out of movement.....and they make them.
 

Gustavus Adolphus

?‍♂️?
Donator
CCS Hall of Fame '20
Joined:
Jun 15, 2010
Posts:
44,602
Liked Posts:
39,207
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  2. Villanova Wildcats
ive always been impressed with how they always managed to use Steven Adams effectively as well. imagine wiseman in that role ?
Not sure what year this is, but look how deep in the paint he gets from simple action:
 

Speed

Well-known member
Joined:
Nov 5, 2012
Posts:
1,893
Liked Posts:
1,492
I like him for the player development aspect. Anything after that is a bonus. Definitely not expecting any kind of deep playoff run until they've done some significant development and/or retooling with the roster.
 

Crystallas

Three if by air
Staff member
Donator
Joined:
Jun 25, 2010
Posts:
19,901
Liked Posts:
9,618
Location:
Next to the beef gristle mill
My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Bulls
What's nice about Donovan, he'll encourage his talent to dominate matchups on certain nights, not pump the brakes every time someone gets into a groove. From an entertainment standpoint, that a 180 compared to the frustration of Boylen and Hoiberg.
 

Top