On Thursday, the Chicago Bulls introduced former Thunder head coach Billy Donovan as its new skipper, with Donovan reportedly signing a four-year, $24 million deal to succeed Jim Boylen.
Although Donovan was in the final year of his contract with the Thunder, the news of his departure was something surprising considering the fact that, relative to expectations, the team overachieved.
When general manager Sam Presti announced that Donovan would not be returning to the sideline for the franchise, he gave the impression that Donovan didn’t have the stomach or patience for a rebuild.
On Thursday, while not getting into too much detail, during his introductory press conference with the Bulls, Donovan seemed to suggest that his departure from Oklahoma City wasn’t necessarily due to that.
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard quotes Donovan as stating the following:
“I think those were things that were put out there about how I felt about a rebuild or not a rebuild, or I was looking for a ready-made team — that was really never ever about it for me,” Donovan said. “It was a lot more important for me, knowing my time had ended there, what was going to be the environment and the situation going forward.”
Taken alone, that comment from Donovan is, at the very least, cryptic.
Presti strongly suggested that the immediate future for the team was an issue for Donovan, while he cites “the situation going forward” as something that did seem to cause a conflict.
As always, the real story probably lies somewhere in the middle. Donovan, for example, could have been looking for assurances that the team wouldn’t be simply trading Chris Paul, Steven Adams and/or Dennis Schroder for draft picks. Any coach who had productive players would, at a minimum, want talented players brought back in who would help the team remain competitive. If Presti couldn’t offer that assurance, that’s understandable.
One thing that Donovan did give Presti for, however, was his honesty.
I do feel like Oklahoma City was incredibly open and honest with me, and we talked extensively, and I really appreciate that from the organization, and from [GM] Sam [Presti], and I really, really enjoyed the group of players that I worked with all five years.
Now, as Donovan’s Bulls tenure begins, he will attempt to help restore the franchise to its past glory.
For the coach, having been officially introduced by the Bulls, Oklahoma City is now fully in the rearview mirror.