The Chicago Bulls have plenty of questions hanging over them after a confusing offseason in which they didn’t choose an identity but instead left themselves somewhere in the middle.
After trading away DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, it appeared as though the Bulls were finally embracing a rebuild, but their inability to move on from Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic has stalled that plan.
Roster issues aside, the Bulls have a win-now coach in Billy Donovan, who was originally hired to take this team to the next level, not to develop young players in a rebuild.
The Chicago Bulls and Billy Donovan may part ways soon
We’ve written about the inevitability of a breakup between Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls.
The context has changed and Donovan is not a coach wired to tank, which is what the Bulls probably need to do if they want to keep their top-10 protected pick in the 2025 Draft.
Bleacher Report concurred, putting Donovan in an article about coaches who will be on the hot seat next season. It’s hard to imagine the Bulls firing Donovan outright, but a mutual breakup could be in the cards.
If so, the Bulls need to bring in the right coach to lead their young roster and there are some interesting names out there.
James Borrego
Borrego interviewed for several head coaching jobs this summer before settling back into his role as associate head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans have had recent success developing young players in Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III and Borrego also had success as a head coach with a young team in Charlotte.
He’d be a safe choice in that he does have head coaching experience where he took a young team to the next level.
Sam Cassell
Its’ hard to believe Cassell does not have a head coaching job already, as he has consistently been mentioned in searches and is widely recognized as one of the best assistant coaches in the league.
Cassell is currently an assistant in Boston, where he just won a title and has been given credit for work he’s done with Jayson Tatum.
Cassell helped develop players like John Wall and Bradley Beal among others and has worked under some of the best coaches in the league.
He also won titles as a player, so Cassell is a champion with a long track record of player development. Even though the Bulls have dubious ownership, they are still a marquee team that could potentially lure Cassell away from the Celtics.
Chris Quinn
Chris Quinn is a long-time assistant in Miami, where he worked his way up from fetching coffee to being Erik Spoelstra’s top assistant.
The Heat are clearly prepping Quinn to take over once Spoelstra finally leaves, but that might not be for a while and he’s been mentioned as a candidate for several openings recently.
Spoelstra raves about Quinn, as do the Heat players, and he’s been credited for being a big part of their successful player development over the years.
He’s young, hungry and has worked under one of the best coaches to ever do it, so Quinn would be a great choice if the Chicago Bulls do replace Billy Donovan.
