Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is reshuffling his coaching staff. After another year of missing the playoffs, it’s the first stage of reconfiguring the team this offseason.
After parting with Chris Fleming, the departure of Josh Longstaff to the Charlotte Hornets, and moving John Bryant to the bench, Donovan sought a candidate with previous head coaching experience for the top bench spot vacated as Maurice Cheeks voluntarily plays a lesser role.
Donovan has found his man.
“ESPN Sources: Wes Unseld Jr., has agreed to join the Chicago Bulls as Billy Donovan’s top assistant coach,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported on X on May 18. Unseld Jr. spent the past two-plus seasons as the Wizards head coach after six years on Michael Malone’s Denver staff.”
Unseld arrives after two-plus seasons as the Wizards head coach and a 77-130 record. He was moved from his position to a front office role in January.
A major shakeup in the Wizards organization!
Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr. is out, but not completely out….@Gio_Delfa reports from Capital One Arena on the moves the team is making, including reaction from @davidaldridgedc #ForTheDistrict@nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/BfxUGBEkgY— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) January 26, 2024
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson confirmed the news soon after, revealing the organization’s previous interest in Unseld.
“Confirming this imminent hire, per Bulls PR. Reported last week that Donovan was seeking lead assistant with head coaching experience,” Johnson posted on X. “Unseld Jr. was under consideration to replace Jim Boylen in 2020 before Billy Donovan became available.”
Unseld also has ties to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Artuaras Karnisovas.
Bulls Tap Familiar Face as Billy Donovan’s Lead Assistant
“Unseld Jr. … worked six seasons with Artūras Karnišovas in Denver when he served as Michael Malone’s assistant,” Johnson wrote on May 18. “Karnišovas also recently parted ways with longtime Director of Performance Health Chip Schaefer as he weighs potential more changes to the training and performance staffs. According to sources, Karnišovas also could reshape the player development coaching staff.”
The Bulls saw some positive early returns from hiring Peter Patton as the team’s Director of Player Development.
However, they have also leaned on the players to do it themselves. DeMar DeRozan being a willing mentor has masked that. But Coby White’s breakout – thanks largely to his outside work with help from DeRozan – while Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry have stagnated highlights it.
Williams or Terry have also put in work with DeRozan over the offseason.
But Karnisovas clearly sees room for that part of the Bulls staff to make improvements – if not significant ones – to help players develop more effectively.
All of this also shows how stable Karnisovas’ position is. He and Donovan both received contract extensions since the end of the 2021-22 season. And their continued freedom to reshape the roster and coaching staff indicates they remain just as safe now despite how the season went.
Bulls Brass Running Out of Scape Goats
The Bulls are 156-162 in Karnisovas’ four years running the show. That includes their 31-41 campaign in 2020-21 when he left things intact before trading for Nikola Vucevic at the deadline.
They still have just one winning season under his watch. Even worse, they have taken steps back in each of the last two seasons as he’s touted continuity even amid drastic changes by his brethren in the Eastern Conference.
Karnisovas has vowed to change the roster how “we showed before” during his exit presser. That could entail some costly investment of draft capital that has been a mixed bag of success.
Donovan has the same record as Karnisovas, which ranks 19th in the NBA and ninth in the East in that span. And his exit from his previous stop could be ominous for the Bulls going forward. Donovan was 243-157 in his five seasons at the helm for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He agreed to part ways with the Thunder following the 2019-20 season when his contract expired in part to avoid undergoing a rebuild.
His Bulls are 3-5 against the Thunder since then and could be heading for a rebuild of their own.
They have not indicated that is their next direction. Donovan also said he was locked in amid speculation he could return to the college ranks earlier this offseason. But the season is now over and the hard part begins.
