JuicyTalk
The Chicago Bulls are signing head coach Billy Donovan to a multiyear contract extension, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday. Though the team confirmed the extension, the financial terms and length of the deal have not yet been revealed.
The Bulls have been negotiating a contract extension with Donovan since last season. Those conversations continued this off-season into last week after the New York Knicks expressed interest in hiring Donovan for their previously vacant head coach opening.
“Despite the Bulls’ struggles under Donovan, the organization values his strong leadership across every level of the franchise,” wrote Shams Charania.
Billy Donovan rose to fame while serving as the head coach of the Florida Gators from 1996 to 2015, where he helped the program win back-to-back championships. After 19 years at Florida, Donovan became the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he remained from 2015 to 2020, when he and the team agreed to mutually part ways. After that, he wound up in Chicago, where he has had one playoff appearance in five seasons.
The Bulls are a laughing stock
This used to be one of the proudest and best-run organizations in the entire world! But that is not the case anymore. Long gone are the days of Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. Now, the Windy City is stuck in the Billy Donovan era and can’t seem to find any way out of it.
This contract extension is a mockery of everything that Michael Jordan did for the city of Chicago. Do you think MJ would give a contract extension to a coach who hasn’t had a winning season in three years? Absolutely not! For some reason, though, owner Jerry Reinsdorf has chosen to reward mediocrity with more money and more job security. I guess MJ was wrong; money was only an issue when it came to paying arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Billy Donovan has not done anything to elevate the players or culture in Chicago. The only impactful players they still have left from that 2022 playoff appearance are Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, Patrick Williams, and Nikola Vučević. However, that number could decrease if Vučević is released, as rumors would suggest. That would leave Chicago with Patrick Williams (a disappointing former number-four overall pick who can’t rebound or put up points), White, and Dosunmu. White and Dosunmu aren’t bad, but they can only shine because they’re on a mediocre Bulls squad. They both would have much smaller roles if they played for a championship contender.
Hell, even the team’s record proves that this is a bad decision. Granted, Donovan improved on his win total from his first season to his second in Chicago. Since then, though, the Bulls have barely sniffed the playoffs and have finished three straight years below .500. Plus, they’re 2-3 in the NBA Play-In Tournament and finished this season without any Play-In wins. They’re regressing in high-pressure situations under Donovan’s watch!
The Chicago Bulls are arguably the worst-run team in the NBA. They have become a mediocre franchise that nobody takes seriously. The Sacramento Kings could make a case for the top spot, but they actually have talent on their roster and are trying to make additions and changes to become competitive. Meanwhile, the Bulls keep losing talent and refusing to make any leadership changes. This franchise, which once was the class of the entire sports universe, is a joke.
There is one positive note about this extension. Bulls fans don’t have to worry about watching any regular-season games. With Billy Donovan at the helm, Chicago is guaranteed to finish the 2025-26 campaign with a record slightly below .500 before coming up short in the NBA Play-In Tournament and missing out on the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Hooray for consistency!
