The Chicago Bulls have hired Billy Donovan as their new head coach, who spent the last five seasons as the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to reports, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas believed that Donovan was the best coaching candidate available and pursued him aggressively.
Donovan has released an official statement confirming the hire, saying that he is looking forward to the opportunity to coach the young Chicago Bulls team.
Donovan led the Thunder to the postseason in all five of his season with the team. The 55-year-old coach guided the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals in his first season with stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way.
The Bulls fired coach Jim Boylen this summer after two straight losing seasons. Chicago hopes that Donovan will be able to lead a young Chicago Bulls team, which has talent but has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
The team is led on the court by rising star Zach LaVine, who averaged 25.5 points this season and was named to the NBA All-Star team.
