Bill Donovan is the newly appointed head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Here are the steps he must take to succeed in his new job.
After trading away Paul George and Russell Westbrook last offseason, the OKC Thunder were expected to miss the playoffs in 2020. Sure, they were bringing in a future Hall of Famer in Chris Paul, but no one in the basketball world thought that alone would be enough to get them into the playoffs in the tough Western Conference.
A lot of coaches would have begun updating their resume as soon as they learned they were losing a former MVP along with a reigning MVP finalist. But Billy Donovan refused to go down without a fight. Giving in to low expectations has never been the mantra of the former Providence point guard turned head coach.
With Paul setting the stage, the Thunder surprised everyone and played their way into the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Up and coming combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began to come into his own. Veteran big man Steven Adams remained the strongest man In the world and Danilo Gallinari continued to be one of the best players to never make an All-Star team.
However, the scrappy style that forced the Houston Rockets to a Game 7 in an entertaining first-round series was not enough to keep Billy Donovan’s job. Shortly after the season was over, the organization announced they would not bring Donovan back as head coach for the next season.
The Chicago Bulls are a proud organization with a lot of tradition. They’ve also missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. The Windy City is not known to show patience with its sports franchises. Winning now is always a priority.
With that in mind, management wasted no time naming Billy Donovan their new head coach as soon as he became available. Bulls fans are hopeful he can do for them what he did for the Thunder. If the Bulls can maximize their potential, a playoff birth is not out of the question. Here are the ways Billy Donovan can help them get there.