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Shams Charania: BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are finalizing the hire of Portland Trail Blazers interim Tiago Splitter as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan as the Bulls' coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season.
The Bulls, league sources say, have begun bringing select candidates to Chicago for in-person interviews this week following the team's array of virtual meetings in search of the successor to Billy Donovan as head coach. Trail Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter, Hawks assistant coach Ryan Schmidt and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori are among the Chicago finalists, sources say.
Marc Stein: "Mike Brown at best was the sixth choice for this job. Remember that the Knicks asked for permission to speak to Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Quinn Snyder, Chris Finch, and Billy Donovan. All of those teams said no. Jason Kidd and Billy Donovan both got contract extensions and no longer coach the teams where they were a year ago. It really looked like the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau without a plan to replace the first coach who had taken them to the conference finals this century. For things to turn around to this degree, the teamwork, the way that team has come together, the way Karl-Anthony Towns has embraced a new role, the way Mikal Bridges, who has been so maligned for how many draft picks he cost the Knicks, and the level that he has been playing in these playoffs."
Shams Charania: Sweeney will finish the remainder of the postseason on the Spurs bench -- with Game 7 on Saturday night for an NBA Finals berth. Former Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy were the two other finalists for the Magic's coaching vacancy, sources said.
While I always hesitate to frame any potential hire as the favorite for a job, since NBA matters can be so fluid, coaching insiders across the league's landscape are very much operating under the belief that former Bulls coach Billy Donovan has an excellent shot at landing the post. Sources confirmed that Donovan is in dialogue with Magic president Jeff Weltman and will have an in-person meeting with Orlando's lead executive in the near future…Orlando has LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy on its radar as well. The defensive guru on Tyronn Lue's staff is the brother, of course, of former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
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Steve Popper: Have heard rumors of this coming for months with Billy Donovan and Thibodeau mentioned as possible replacements from every rumor about it. The coach blaming remains one of the oddest parts of the NBA (and every sport).
Lloyd has experience in multiple departments, from media relations to basketball operations to scouting. He also could bring a highly coveted coach with him. According to a source with the Timberwolves, if he gets the Bulls job, he undoubtedly would make Micah Nori the new head coach, replacing Billy Donovan, who resigned April 21 after six seasons. Nori has been the Timberwolves’ lead assistant since 2021, was voted top assistant coach by NBA general managers the last two seasons and is considered a top defensive strategist in the league.
Addressing the future of coach Quin Snyder, whose contract has only one season remaining after this one. Snyder, remember, was one of five NBA head coaches under contract that the Knicks unsuccessfully requested permission to speak to last June after the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau along with Dallas' Jason Kidd, Houston's Ime Udoka, Minnesota's Chris Finch and then-Chicago coach Billy Donovan. Snyder did not receive an extension in the immediate aftermath of New York's approach like Udoka, Donovan and ultimately Kidd, but extension talks are mostly certainly expected soon after this season … whether or not Atlanta can keep it going Thursday night.
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Now, it looks like whoever the Bulls hire to run their organization will get that opportunity. “While we clearly wanted Billy to return as our head coach, we had open dialogue about the importance of respecting the process of bringing in new basketball operations leadership,” Reinsdorf said in a news release. “Together, we mutually agreed that giving that person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach for everyone involved.” The 60-year-old Donovan consistently has said he still has a passion for coaching. The decision to leave the Bulls was made “after a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization,” Donovan said in the team release announcing the move. “I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit,” he said.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Michael’s father, praised Donovan for the “class and genuine care” that he brought to the organization. “We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in question,” Jerry Reinsdorf said. “But through honest conversations, we all agreed that giving our new head of basketball operations the right to build out his staff was the most important thing for the future of this franchise. That is the kind of person Billy is — he put the Bulls first.”
Billy Donovan is stepping away as head coach. pic.twitter.com/Up6S6dd5tL
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 21, 2026
Shams Charania: BREAKING: Billy Donovan is exiting as head coach of the Chicago Bulls after six seasons, sources tell ESPN.
