After 6 Years, Donovan Bids Farewell to the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls announced Tuesday the resignation of their head coach, Billy Donovan, after six seasons, just one week before the end of the regular season, in which they finished with a 31-51 record, missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
"I believe it is in the best interest of the team to allow the new coach to build the coaching staff as he sees fit," Donovan said in a statement.
The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Mark Eversley on April 6.
The following day, CEO Michael Reinsdorf said he wanted Donovan to stay on: "While we clearly wanted Billy to continue with us, we had a discussion about the importance of respecting the process of bringing in new leadership for our basketball operations. We both agreed that giving this individual the freedom to shape the organization is the best approach for all parties involved." Donovan, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, has spent the last 11 seasons as an NBA coach, including five with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Under Donovan's leadership, the Chicago Bulls have a record of 226 wins and 256 losses. He led the team to the playoffs once, in 2022, where they were eliminated in the first round.