Bulls Talk: Billy Donovan, A.K., M.E. are OUT

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a Bulls Talk post and I’m in the mood to rant a bit, so a Bulls rant is what you’re all going to get on this random Saturday!

Let me start by saying, so there’s no confusion and I don’t get in trouble (If they’re still using the name somewhere out there), “Bulls Talk” was the name of the official Chicago Bulls podcast. It’s not “my thing”, but since they aren’t a show anymore I figured it’s okay to use the title for my posts about the Bulls. If it’s not and somehow my itsy-bitsy blog makes its way to their organization, I’m sure they’ll let me know. With that being said, welcome to the latest edition of Bulls Talk!

I hope to continue writing these every once in a while. My fandom has been all over the place lately due to frustration with the organization, not being able to watch games regularly due to greedy ownership starting CHSN (Chicago Sports Network) and blocking them all behind a subscription that I don’t want to pay for right now, time and energy. It’s exhausting being a fan of this team and recently I’ve grown tired of them. The organization does not care to win. The players do, and the coaches do, but management and ownership do not. 

There’s been a lot of news regarding the Bulls recently and I think now is the perfect time to resume writing about my favorite team (even when they drive me crazy).

There was big news coming out of the organization a week or two ago and it honestly caught me by surprise: Billy Donovan steps down as Bulls head coach after 6 seasons. This article was written by Shams Charania at ESPN. Side note and fun fact, I met Shams at a Bulls game one time. It was one of the most awkward interactions of my life, but we can talk about that another time. 

I didn’t expect Billy Donovan to willingly leave the Bulls, since he probably has the most secure job in the NBA right now. The Reinsdorfs (ownership) love him, even though he’s a losing coach with this organization. They begged him to stay: “Donovan held meetings with Bulls ownership over the last week and was offered to remain in Chicago for as long as he wanted, even in a new managerial capacity if he so desired.” Excuse me? I don’t understand why they’re so in love with him. Sure, he’s a nice guy, he could be a good coach in the right organization (and he was in Oklahoma City), but the truth is he was not a good coach for the Bulls. Not at all. Personally, I didn’t like the way he “developed” the younger members of the team and the rookies. 

He barely let them play in real games. How are they going to develop if they don’t play in real games? It made no sense to me over the years. Also, why would they think he’d be interested in a managerial role? The man is a coach through-and-through, it’s what he loves to do. He’s not going to join the management team of the worst organization in the NBA. “We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach – that was never a question…But through honest conversations, we all agreed that giving our new Head of Basketball Operations (Will speak on this in a minute) 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.” 

Translation: “Our head coach cares more about the organization than we do and he’s taught us to put the Bulls above our own interests.” It took Billy Donovan leaving, on his own accord, for them to think about putting the Bulls first. They apparently were obsessed with the idea of keeping him on in some way, shape, or form, but thankfully he actually cares about the Bulls and realized if they’re hiring a whole new management team, it’s best to step down and let them pick a new coach that fits their vision. 

Now, on to the more exciting news for Bulls fans: “The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6 after a six-year run produced just one playoff appearance.” This is in the same ESPN article. 

Good grief! It took 6 years to get rid of dumb and dumber. They did absolutely nothing but waste everybody’s time. We rarely saw Arturas, and when we did he never said anything meaningful. All he would say is, “We’re confident in our team and looking to make a playoff run”, or something along those lines. And the GM? Very, very rarely would he make an appearance. They were both so bad at their jobs, I hope they give up being in the NBA all together and go find jobs somewhere else. I wouldn’t wish them on any other team. No one deserves the kind of torture us Bulls fans went through. Now, I will say, when Arturas and Marc first joined the organization, they put together a team that was the number 1 seed in the east for a few months. When injuries plagued the Bulls, it all went down hill fast. Once Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball were hurt, it was over. They made the worst decisions possible and none of the good things they did in the beginning mattered. I’m so happy they’re gone, but now my question is this: Does it even matter?

We still have the same braindead ownership with the Reinsdorf family in charge. What is even the point of having any hope for my favorite organization? They make the worst choices you could possibly make, and they do it every time! Per ESPN, “The Bulls have started the search process for their new top basketball executive, receiving permission to interview Minnesota Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd, Detroit Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey, Atlanta Hawks senior vice president Bryson Graham, Cleveland Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Dave Telep.” 

All of this means nothing to me. It doesn’t matter, none of it matters. As long as we have the same ownership, nothing is ever going to change. They’ll pick the worst person from that group (if they even pick from that group) and be like, “Oh he’s so wonderful he is the best fit for the Bulls” blah blah blah. They drive me crazy with their stupidity. Although, and I’ve said this before, they’re billionaires and I’m not, so are they really that stupid? Or do they just not care enough about winning? It has to be the second option. They’re smart enough to continuously bring millions if not billions into their pockets through the Bulls. They just don’t care about winning. Only filling their bank accounts. 

On the bright side (I guess???), Chicago Bulls Land Second First-Round Pick in Deep 2026 NBA Draft, per Elias Schuster.  “Things may be finally looking up for the Chicago Bulls”, yeah right! Chicago Now Has Four 2026 NBA Draft Picks. This section is further down in the article. “…should be considered a massive win for a Bulls team that is starting fresh. Two picks in the Top 16 are a lot to work with, especially in THIS draft. It’s also quite the exciting pair of picks to immediately hand a new front office leader.” We’ll see what happens, but I don’t think any of this matters at all. Whoever ownership hires, it will be the wrong choice and we will continue in this cycle for millenia. 

Go Bulls!

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Peter