Billy Donovan’s Return a Non-Negotiable in Bulls’ Search for New Top Executive
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CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls chief executive officer and team president Michael Reinsdorf said Tuesday, April 7, 2026, that any candidate to run the club’s basketball operations must be committed to keeping Billy Donovan as head coach.
“If I interview someone and they’re not sold on Billy, they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach,” Reinsdorf said during a video call with reporters. “If Billy wants to be our coach and someone’s not interested in that, then they’re probably not the right candidate for us.”
Donovan is scheduled to meet ownership the day after Sunday’s season finale to discuss his future. Reinsdorf indicated he expects a quick decision and added that he intends to involve Donovan more deeply in personnel matters.
Front-office overhaul
Reinsdorf spoke one day after dismissing vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, ending their six-year tenure. With the Bulls at 29-49 and one week left in the regular season, Reinsdorf pointed to significant summer cap space and potential lottery selections — including an extra first-round pick if Portland reaches the playoffs — as reasons to reset now.
“We tried the other route. It didn’t work,” he said. “We failed, and now we’re in position to get this right — clean slate.”
Broader search process
The club will employ an outside search firm alongside Reinsdorf, senior adviser John Paxson and remaining basketball staff to identify Karnisovas’s replacement. Chicago did not use a search firm when it hired Karnisovas in 2020, a process conducted largely over video calls at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; Reinsdorf noted he did not meet Karnisovas in person until after the hire.
The new executive must be process-oriented, willing to “pull the trigger,” and an effective communicator with players, employees, fans and media — an area Reinsdorf acknowledged was a weakness for the previous regime.
No appetite for tanking
Reinsdorf reiterated the organization’s resistance to losing deliberately for draft position. “It’s unfair to the coach. It’s unfair to the players. It’s actually unfair to our fans,” he said, while also criticizing Karnisovas’s 2021 push for immediate success that brought in DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vučević and Lonzo Ball. “Going forward, it’s about sustainability. I don’t want to be just good for one or two years.”
The Bulls conclude the regular season Sunday before beginning their search in earnest for a new basketball chief who embraces those principles and, above all, retains Donovan on the bench.
Source: ESPN
