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KC Johnson: Fun fact about Bulls’ first-round pick Noa Essengue: He’s represented by LIFT Sports Management, the agency co-founded by Billy Donovan’s prize recruit at Florida, Mike Miller
While a long shot to join New York, Kidd — who is under contract for two more years and the Mavericks, per league sources, have shown no interest to this point in allowing their coach to leave — still hasn’t agreed to an extension like other currently-employed head coaches who the Knicks showed interest in during the first stage of their search. New York reached out to Houston to speak with Ime Udoka and to Chicago to speak with Billy Donovan. Udoka agreed to an extension with the Rockets last week, league sources told The Athletic. And according to multiple reports, the Bulls and Billy Donovan are in the process of working on a contract extension.
Not that there was any surprise that Donovan would get a new deal. The Bulls maintain that talks had begun on an extension, with Donovan down to one season left on his last deal, before the Knicks had even requested permission to speak with him. "They love him," one source familiar with management's thinking said of the Bulls' fondness for Donovan.
According to a source on Wednesday morning, the Bulls were close to finalizing a contract extension for Billy Donovan and had been in discussions with the head coach since the season ended. Why the hold up? The source speculated that it was always going to happen, but Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley needed to be extended first and that has now likely happened. What was stressed is that the escalation of the deal getting done had nothing to do with the Knicks asking for permission to speak to Donovan about their coaching vacancy after they parted ways with Tom Thibodeau. Multiple sources indicated that Donovan had no interest in leaving the Bulls, especially for the Knicks position under the current regime, and told his bosses that when New York came calling.
Bulls, Billy Donovan working towards extension
Marc Stein: The Bulls are in the process of extending coach Billy Donovan's contract, league sources tell @TheSteinLine . Donovan, of course, was one of five coaches under contract that the Knicks sought permission to speak to. More NBA from me: https://tinyurl.com/3n7ch3py 📷: @CHGO_Bulls
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Marc Stein: The Knicks' request to speak to Billy Donovan was denied and that appears to have helped spark a new Bulls deal. Donovan's previous extension, said to have one year remaining, was secured entering 2022-23 but not immediately announced until late November of that season.
Shams Charania: Of the five coaches, only one had just a year left on his deal—Billy Donovan from the Bulls. There was some optimism that maybe they could pry him away. But Donovan wants to stay in Chicago. He believes in their future. Think about it: the Bulls and Hawks are fringe play-in tournament teams. The other three coaches are on contending rosters for next year. So whether it’s a contender or a borderline team, the Knicks just didn’t have any success in that lane.”
Knicks may circle back to Jason Kidd and Billy Donovan in coaching search
The Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Kidd and the Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan are two the New York might circle back to in the coming weeks, according to league sources. The belief around the league is that Kidd and Donovan are looking for contract extensions from their current franchises, and if those don’t materialize, they might be open to joining the Knicks.
Bulls reject Knicks permission to speak with Billy Donovan for coaching vacancy
KC Johnson: The Knicks requested permission to speak to Billy Donovan for their coaching vacancy but were denied, per sources. The Bulls value Donovan highly for his coaching acumen, communication skills and ability to connect with players and all members of organization.
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Lu Dort: There was a small moment about five years ago, when I realized Shai was like no joke. This was in the 2019–2020 season, before the bubble. I was a rookie, and Shai had just been traded to OKC at the time, with Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder and those guys. It all goes back to this one night in Detroit. I remember Coach Donovan had called a timeout, and we were in the huddle. Shai was one of the youngest players on the team, but I think he was already our best scorer. And I don’t know who was calling the play, but basically, the ball wasn’t going to Shai. Shai’s a chill dude. He didn’t get mad or anything. He just kept it real. He was like, “Let me get a couple plays,” or something like that. A young player saying that at the time was like, Oh. He wasn’t out of pocket or anything, it was just bold. It would’ve been one thing if he had said it and gone out and got a few buckets. But it was Shai, so he went on like a 12–0 run by himself. I was like, That’s real.
Tim Reynolds: Longest current tenure with their teams: 2008 hire -- Erik Spoelstra, Miami, 2014 -- Steve Kerr, Golden State, 2020 -- Billy Donovan, Chicago, 2020 -- Tyronn Lue, LA Clippers, 2020 -- Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City
Bulls zoning in on Egor Demin?
So where does that leave the Bulls? According to a source, Maryland big man Derik Queen is sliding but still isn’t on the Bulls’ radar because of growing concerns about his athletic ability and how that fits with Billy Donovan’s up-tempo pace. He’ll need a private workout with the Bulls to change minds. The Bulls are zoning in on BYU’s Egor Demin, but they’re not alone. Demin — a suddenly hot name — could climb into the top 10.
According to a source, Maryland big man Derik Queen is sliding but still isn’t on the Bulls’ radar because of growing concerns about his athletic ability and how that fits with Billy Donovan’s up-tempo pace. He’ll need a private workout with the Bulls to change minds.
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