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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.
Shams Charania: The Bulls made clear that the organization wanted Donovan back after making sweeping changes to their front office, but Donovan held an option in his contract for next season and elected to step down after extensive meetings with team ownership in the last week, sources said. Donovan determined he wanted to give the team a clean break, provide the ability for the organization to undergo its front office search and allow the new top basketball executive to make the next coaching hire.
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Donovan received interest from multiple organizations while under contract with the Bulls -- from the New York Knicks last offseason and the University of North Carolina during this season -- but maintained his desire to complete the commitment on his contract. Donovan plans to continue his coaching career and will be a viable target moving forward in the NBA landscape, sources said.
Before their meeting, Reinsdorf said he wouldn’t consider hiring someone who didn’t want to keep him as head coach, but he also didn’t think that would be an issue. “I don’t think there’s a candidate out there who would not want to interview with us, because I’d like Billy to remain as our coach,” Reinsdorf told The Athletic in an email.
Before the firing of executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley last week, the Sun-Times was reporting that Donovan was likely gone. How gone? Put it at a solid 90%. In the wake of those front office changes, it felt like it dropped to 49% gone.
