Billy Donovan Steps Down as Bulls Coach — Chicago's Long Rebuild Just Got Real
After six seasons and just one playoff appearance, Billy Donovan is leaving Chicago. The Bulls are in full rebuild mode — and the question now is who comes next.
The Chicago Bulls have been in a holding pattern for six years.
This week, that pattern officially broke — and not in the good way.
Billy Donovan, the team's head coach since 2020, has exercised an option to step down. The move follows the firing of Chicago's executive VP of basketball operations and GM earlier this month. ESPN reports Donovan made the decision to allow new basketball operations leadership to "build out the staff as they see fit."
Six seasons. One playoff appearance. That's the Bulls' recent story — and Donovan walking away is the punctuation mark on a chapter nobody wanted.
Six Years, One Postseason
Let's be fair to Donovan here: he walked into a complicated situation, and the front office didn't give him much to work with.
His record with Chicago was 226 wins — respectable on paper. But the Bulls made the playoffs just once during that run, in the 2021-22 season. For a franchise with six championships in their history, one postseason appearance in six years is a failure no matter how you frame it.
For context: during his Oklahoma City tenure, Donovan took the Thunder to the playoffs five consecutive times. He's not a bad coach. He was in a bad situation, and the organizational dysfunction ran deeper than any one coach could fix.
The Rebuild Is Real Now
What's happening in Chicago is a full teardown. New front office hire incoming, new coaching staff to be assembled, and the roster likely to look very different before next season.
ESPN reports the Bulls are interviewing candidates from multiple organizations — Minnesota, Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, and San Antonio are mentioned as talent pools for the executive search. The mid-May draft combine is the next major milestone.
For card collectors, Chicago player values are genuinely murky right now. Until there's clarity on roster direction and who's coming in from the front office, it's hard to make conviction plays on Bulls cards. Hold what you have and watch what happens at the draft.
What This Means Going Forward
The Bulls are going to look very different in 12-18 months. That's actually an interesting collector angle — rookie cards from whoever Chicago takes in this draft could carry significant upside if the new front office hits on their picks. Draft season is usually when the "rebuild team" narrative creates undervalued assets.
The Bottom Line
Billy Donovan didn't fail Chicago so much as Chicago failed itself — too many years of mediocrity, too little urgency until the window had already closed. The rebuild is real now. It's going to take a while, but at least the Bulls are finally moving in a clear direction instead of treading water.