Donovan out in Chicago

Billy Donovan is out as Chicago Bulls coach after six seasons, leaving Chicago with a head coaching vacancy on April 21. (apnews.com) The Bulls said Donovan, 60, decided to step aside after discussions with ownership, and the team said it wanted him to remain in Chicago. ESPN and The Associated Press reported the move Tuesday morning. (espn.com, nba.com) Donovan went 226-256 with the Bulls from 2020-21 through 2025-26, and Chicago finished this season 31-51, 12th in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) The exit lands two weeks after Chicago fired executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6. That left the franchise searching for a new front office and, now, a new coach at the same time. (nba.com, espn.com) Chicago’s reset follows a six-year stretch with one winning season and one playoff appearance, a five-game first-round loss to Milwaukee in 2022. The Bulls have not won a playoff series since 2015. (espn.com, apnews.com) The timing is sharp because Donovan had just signed a multiyear extension with the Bulls in July 2025. USA Today reported he held an option year for next season before choosing to leave. (nba.com, usatoday.com) Donovan arrived from Oklahoma City in 2020 after five NBA seasons with the Thunder and two national titles at Florida. In Chicago, his best year was 2021-22, when the Bulls went 46-36 and reached the postseason. (espn.com, nba.com) The opening comes as the 2026 NBA postseason is already underway. The league’s play-in tournament ran April 14-17, and the first round began April 18, so Chicago joins the coaching market after other teams have already started reshaping staffs and front offices. (nba.com, sports.yahoo.com) For the Bulls, the next decision is no longer whether to tweak the roster around Donovan. It is who will run basketball operations, and who will coach a team coming off a 31-win season. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com)