Bulls Fire Front Office but Want Billy Donovan to Stay — NBA Insiders Are Baffled

The Chicago Bulls just made one of the most confusing moves of the offseason before the season is even over. They fired president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and GM Mark Eversley — then immediately told the basketball world that whoever replaces them must want to keep Billy Donovan as head coach.

CEO Michael Reinsdorf held a video call with media and didn't mince words: "If I interview someone and they're not sold on Billy, they're not sold on a Hall of Fame coach." He added that the next front office hire needs to embrace Donovan having a greater voice in player acquisition. NBA insiders are baffled — it's almost unheard of for a new GM to be told they can't pick their own coach.

Donovan's future will be decided Monday, the day after Chicago's season finale against the Mavericks. He's been with the Bulls since 2020, and while the team hasn't made deep playoff runs, Reinsdorf clearly values stability over a full reset. Whether that's the right call is another question entirely.