The Chicago Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, ending a six-year run that produced just one playoff appearance.
USA Basketball put together different rosters for all six World Cup qualifying windows, and coach Jim Boylen noticed the same two things with each of those groups.
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CHICAGO – The Chicago Bulls weren't on Billy Donovan's radar when he and the Oklahoma City Thunder parted ways after five successful seasons. So this kind of came out of left field for me.”The Bulls introduced Donovan as their coach on Thursday, two days after they announced they landed arguably the most attractive candidate on the market to help turn around a struggling team with new management. Donovan met in person with Karnisovas and Marc Eversley for 5 1/2 hours to get the process in gear. And when Donovan accepted the job, Karnisovas said, “I could not stop smiling.”Hiring Donovan was a rare big and bold move for the Bulls. Donovan said he was “taken aback” by Karnisovas' vision and is looking forward to “working hand in hand” with him.
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CHICAGO – The Chicago Bulls hired Billy Donovan as their coach Tuesday, landing one of the top candidates on the market to lead a rebuilding team with an overhauled front office. The Bulls also brought in general manager Marc Eversley to replace the fired Gar Forman, and they let Boylen go last month. Donovan went 243-157 as coach of the Thunder and reached the playoffs each year. Before his time with the Thunder, Donovan coached for 19 seasons at the University of Florida, winning two NCAA titles. “We are very pleased to welcome Billy and his family to the Chicago Bulls,” Karnisovas said.