What the Donovan Signing means for Chicago |
What the Donovan signing means for the Bulls
By Dustin Riese Ever since Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley stepped in to lead the front office, they have been on a mission to make the Bulls a contender again. Although quiet for the most part, they fired Jim Boylen without much consideration showing that they indeed mean business this year. Earlier this week, the duo made a statement by plucking Billy Donovan off the open market to appoint him the next Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls. It was a move that had to be made, and by making this move, the Bulls are back in the conversation of a team ready to compete soon. Anyone who has followed Donovan's career with Oklahoma City and Florida, and you can see how successful a coach he is and why the Bulls wanted to pick him up. Donovan has also been regarded as a people person who interacts exceptionally well with his players. That is something this Bulls team has lacked for a while, as it never seemed like they were on the same page as Boylen. Most importantly, Donovan has worked with star players his entire career and knows exactly what a star player looks like. Going back to Florida, Donovan had a group led by Bradley Beal, Joakim Noah, and Al Horford, leading to two consecutive national titles. Then he heads to OKC, where he gets to work with Paul George, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook, among others. While the Bulls may not have that same type of star power, they have a young roster led by a rising star in Zach Lavine, which could turn into gold for Chicago. Donovan's signing is significant for the Bulls, as this is the type of deal that could make this team contenders sooner rather than later. Donovan said that taking this job will be the toughest challenge he has encountered as a coach. He is not wrong, but he has a young roster to work with and put his stamp on it. Secondly, Donovan trusts this front office and what they want to do. Yes, the Bulls do not have the win-now roster that the Sixers or the Pacers do, but for some reason, he trusts the front office more in Chicago than he does anywhere else. That is saying a lot when you look at this franchise's state over the past five seasons. If Donovan is putting trust in this team, I wonder if free agents will also but trust in this team and want to play for Donovan. Beal gave Donovan a huge vote of confidence, crediting him for helping him become the player he is today. Beal is one of the premier scoring guards in the league who is stuck in purgatory with the Wizards right now. Beal is someone who would love to play for Donovan, and I'm curious to see if he tries to work his way out of Washington soon. Paul is the most recent example of someone who loves Donovan. After working with Westbrook for years, Donovan inherited Paul from the Rockets in the Westbrook deal as the Thunder appeared to be entering a rebuild mold last season. Donovan then takes that same team to 44 wins and earns them a five-season in the postseason where they nearly knocked off the Rockets in the first round. Paul was a massive part of the improvement as he played his best basketball in years. Paul is an intriguing name to watch this offseason as we know the Thunder are looking to get younger in some spots while shedding payroll. The Bulls need a true point guard, so it will be curious to see if Paul wants to jump ship for the Windy City and reunite with Donovan. Two weeks ago, it seemed as if the Bulls would not be making too many moves in Free Agency. Although the financial side of things may make it difficult to sign players this season, adding Donovan immediately makes them players in future free-agent markets. They will get some money to spend to go after names, and players will want to play for Donovan. This is a very similar situation when Tom Thibedeau got here as players suddenly wanted to come to Chicago. Of all the coaching hires Chicago could have made, this was the one that made the most sense, and it is a home run hire for this organization. Donovan is an organization changing coach who will bring success and stability to this team. He will build this team into a winner, demand respect, and have players lining up to play for him. Donovan has already changed the Bulls future, and he is just getting started.
