While Arturas Karnisovas has been active in trying to make changes with the Bulls’ current roster this summer, what won’t be getting an overhaul is key personnel in the offices that sit atop the practice courts of the Advocate Center.
His included.
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.
Karnisovas, who has been the executive vice president of basketball operations since 2020, has always been very open with Donovan, allowing the coach to have a say in the aspects of the team and the roster that he’s wanted.
Basically, the antithesis of how the Knicks have operated the past few seasons.
On the surface, Donovan, who was born and raised in Long Island, would be a great fit for a New York squad that made it to the Eastern Conference finals before losing to Indiana in six games. While the media reports of Thibodeau’s dismissal have inaccurately ranged from his players turning on him to ownership pulling the plug, those in the close NBA coaching circle know the real story and how much dysfunction was actually behind the firing.
Donovan wanted no part of that.
This will be the second time Donovan has been extended, as the coach had one year left on his current deal. The last time the Bulls extended him, however, ownership made the decision to not make it public. There were no indications if that would be the procedure this time.
Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf never makes front office extensions public, but it’s safe to say that Karnisovas — fair or unfair — had a strong selling point in his own extension considering he has set the stage for what could be another roster overhaul next summer when six current players come off the books.