The Chicago Bulls’ decision to hire Billy Donovan as their next head coach didn’t exactly sit well with one of the best players in the franchise history. Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen recently told Forbes that he isn’t “impressed” with the choice Bulls made. 

“I’m not impressed with what [the Bulls] did,” said Pippen. “I don’t think that they have made any dramatic changes that are going to change who they are as a team. That’s just my personal opinion.”

According to Pippen, Donovan didn’t “prove anything” during his time in the league and isn’t the right man to turn around Chicago’s fortunes.

“I like Billy Donovan as a person, but I don’t think he’s proved anything in the NBA that proves he’s worth investing in and bringing a team up that needs help like Chicago does,” he added. “They’re a team that has been struggling for a long time.”

Billy Donovan proved himself on the college level, winning two NCAA Championships with Florida. However, he failed to replicate this success during his five seasons in NBA with Oklahoma City Thunder. After making Conference Finals in his first season at the helm, Donovan experienced four straight first-round playoff exits since then.

In Chicago, Donovan will be tasked with getting back the Bulls to playoffs for the first time since 2017. He replaces Jim Boylen, who was fired in August after posting a 39-84 record in the past two seasons.

The post Bulls’ Legend Scottie Pippen Isn’t “Impressed” with Hiring of Billy Donovan appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post Billy Donovan Named New Chicago Bulls Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has announced that coach Billy Donovan will not be returning next season after leading the team for five seasons.

Donovan had a record of 243-157 as the coach of Oklahoma City, a team that overachieved this year, almost making it to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

They lost 4-3 in a best-of-seven series against the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Donovan led the team to the playoffs in each of his five seasons and was a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year award this year, which all points to him probably becoming a very attractive solution for other NBA teams that are currently looking to hire a new coach.

According to Donovan and the team, his departure was a mutual decision, with Thunder general manager Sam Presti saying that Oklahoma City couldn’t give Donovan the assurances about his future with the team that he wanted.

Before joining Oklahoma City, Donovan was the coach at the University of Florida, where he won two national championships and took the team to four Final Four appearances in 19 seasons of coaching.

In his first year as the coach of the Thunder, Donovan went to the Western Conference Finals with a team that was carried at the time by superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. They ended up squandering a 3-1 series lead to the Golden State Warriors that year and have not been back to the Conference Finals since.

Expectations for Oklahoma City were very low in 2019 after the team traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, the Paul-led Thunder team went 44-28 and nearly beat the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Part Ways with Coach Billy Donovan appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Chicago Bulls’ decision to hire Billy Donovan as their next head coach didn’t exactly sit well with one of the best players in the franchise history. Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen recently told Forbes that he isn’t “impressed” with the choice Bulls made. 

“I’m not impressed with what [the Bulls] did,” said Pippen. “I don’t think that they have made any dramatic changes that are going to change who they are as a team. That’s just my personal opinion.”

According to Pippen, Donovan didn’t “prove anything” during his time in the league and isn’t the right man to turn around Chicago’s fortunes.

“I like Billy Donovan as a person, but I don’t think he’s proved anything in the NBA that proves he’s worth investing in and bringing a team up that needs help like Chicago does,” he added. “They’re a team that has been struggling for a long time.”

Billy Donovan proved himself on the college level, winning two NCAA Championships with Florida. However, he failed to replicate this success during his five seasons in NBA with Oklahoma City Thunder. After making Conference Finals in his first season at the helm, Donovan experienced four straight first-round playoff exits since then.

In Chicago, Donovan will be tasked with getting back the Bulls to playoffs for the first time since 2017. He replaces Jim Boylen, who was fired in August after posting a 39-84 record in the past two seasons.

The post Bulls’ Legend Scottie Pippen Isn’t “Impressed” with Hiring of Billy Donovan appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post Billy Donovan Named New Chicago Bulls Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has announced that coach Billy Donovan will not be returning next season after leading the team for five seasons.

Donovan had a record of 243-157 as the coach of Oklahoma City, a team that overachieved this year, almost making it to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

They lost 4-3 in a best-of-seven series against the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Donovan led the team to the playoffs in each of his five seasons and was a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year award this year, which all points to him probably becoming a very attractive solution for other NBA teams that are currently looking to hire a new coach.

According to Donovan and the team, his departure was a mutual decision, with Thunder general manager Sam Presti saying that Oklahoma City couldn’t give Donovan the assurances about his future with the team that he wanted.

Before joining Oklahoma City, Donovan was the coach at the University of Florida, where he won two national championships and took the team to four Final Four appearances in 19 seasons of coaching.

In his first year as the coach of the Thunder, Donovan went to the Western Conference Finals with a team that was carried at the time by superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. They ended up squandering a 3-1 series lead to the Golden State Warriors that year and have not been back to the Conference Finals since.

Expectations for Oklahoma City were very low in 2019 after the team traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, the Paul-led Thunder team went 44-28 and nearly beat the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Part Ways with Coach Billy Donovan appeared first on SportzBonanza.