Chicago Bulls Hire Billy Donovan’s Son as G League Coach

The Chicago Bulls have preached continuity for years, and their actions have backed it up. General manager Marc Eversley recently signed a three-contract extension to remain with the organization. The mantra has even seeped into the lower levels of the organization as the Bulls reportedly hired Billy Donovan III, the son of the team's NBA coach, to take over on the bench for the G League Windy City Bulls.

Donovan III will be relatively young on the bench at the age of 32. His coaching career started in the high school ranks at Trinity High School in 2015 to 2016. He then coached at St. Francis Academy, another high school in Gainsville. Donovan III made the jump to the NBA-affiliated ranks when he joined the San Antonio Spurs G League team as an assistant coach from 2017 to 2019. During the 2019-20 season, he was an assistant video coordinator for the Phoenix Suns.

In 2020, he finally joined his father's Bulls as the head video coordinator for a season before being promoted to an assistant coaching role, per RealGM .

The Reinsdorf Friends and Family Plan Strikes Again

Billy Donovan III's resume of quick promotions offers hope that he could be a solid coach. But context is important, and his joining the Bulls under his father elicits fair skepticism.

This isn’t the first time Jerry Reinsdorf has employed a "friends and family" plan. The Chicago White Sox, also owned by Reinsdorf, pursued star infielder Manny Machado in free agency before the 2019 season. To help lure him to Chicago, the Sox signed Yonder Alonso (Machado's brother-in-law) and Jon Jay (Machado's close friend). The plan ultimately backfired with Machado taking more money to play for the San Diego Padres.

While Bulls fans debate the cause of the franchise's mediocrity, vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas or Billy Donovan, the latest moves embed both parties in the Bulls' future plans.

If the Bulls endure another near-.500 season, the fan base's frustration will only grow. Something will have to give if the Bulls want to maintain fan interest.

But this is Jerry Reinsdorf we're talking about, and he's proven time and time again that he cares most about the bottom line despite his cronies' posturing that "nobody wants to win more than he does."

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