Latest news with #BillyDonovan
USA Today
an hour ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Gators coach Billy Donovan signs contract extension with Chicago Bulls
Former Florida Gators men's basketball head coach Billy Donovan agreed to a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Neither party has revealed the length or financial terms of the deal, besides it being a multi-year deal. Donovan had one year remaining on his contract. He's been with Chicago for six seasons, compiling a 195-205 record. Over 10 seasons as an NBA coach, Donovan has a 438-362 record. The Bulls made the play-in tournament for a third year in a row with a 39-43 record under Donovan last year. Despite the plateau of success, Donovan is getting this extension for guiding Chicago through the rebuild. The Bulls have traded Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach Levine in the past two seasons. Coby White and Josh Giddey are the new faces of the franchise. Donovan has won everywhere he's coached. Over 19 years at Florida, he won 467 and lost 185 for a .715 winning percentage. He's over the 500-win threshold overall, counting the two seasons he was the head man at Marshall. Donovan began his career as an assistant at Kentucky. The first five years of his NBA coaching career came with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he won 243 games at a 60.8% rate. The Thunder made the playoffs all five seasons under Donovan, but the Bulls have only made it once (2021-22) over the same period. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bulls coach gets candid about Matas Buzelis' upside
A Chicago Bulls coach has gotten refreshingly honest about the upside of 2025 All-Rookie forward Matas Buzelis over the years to come. While chatting with Spotrac's Keith Smith during 2025 Summer League festivities in Las Vegas, a Bulls coach revealed just how much Chicago values Buzelis' upside. 'He's going to be really, really good,' a Bulls coach emphatically told Smith. 'He wants it so damn bad. This kid pushes himself so hard. And you see that on the floor too. But it's the quiet moments when you see him work. He's wildly intense about getting better and improving.' MORE NEWS:Bulls envision major role change for Matas Buzelis in Year 2 After a logging a year with the G League Ignite in 2022-23, the 6-foot-10 combo forward was selected by his hometown team with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Buzelis wasn't a huge part of since-extended head coach Billy Donovan's rotation in the build-up to last season's NBA trade deadline, but after Chicago moved off the contract of two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine, the club had more touches to go around. Buzelis, point guard Josh Giddey, and shooting guard Coby White were the prime beneficiaries. All told, Buzelis suited up for 80 regular season contests with the Bulls (31 starts), averaging 8.6 points on .454/.361/.815 shooting splits, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks a night. He'll join a slightly revamped Chicago squad, which now boasts another late lottery pick, raw No. 12 selection Noa Essengue, and fresh trade acquisition Isaac Okoro. MORE NEWS:NBA insider has theory on Josh Giddey, Bulls contract-talks
CBS News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Billy Donovan signs multi-year contract extension with Chicago Bulls, report says
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan signed a multi-year contract extension Sunday and will remain coach of the Bulls for the foreseeable future, per ESPN. Donovan enters his sixth season as the coach of the Bulls, going 195-205 in his first five seasons in Chicago with one trip to the playoffs in 2022. The Bulls have gone 39-43 in back-to-back seasons, finishing as the 9-seed in the East both years, but are in the midst of a retool after trading away Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan in recent years to shift towards a youth movement. The Bulls front office decided Donovan is the right choice to continue guiding that young group as they try to stay competitive but get younger at the same time. Donovan was one of the many active coaches pursued by the New York Knicks this summer, but ultimately agreed to stay in Chicago on a new long-term deal. The length and specific terms of the contract aren't known currently. With how much turnover there has been in the NBA in recent years, Donovan is the third-longest tenured coach in the NBA. He's tied with Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue with 400 games coached, as they were all hired in the summer of 2020. The only coaches who have been with their current teams longer are Erik Spoelstra in Miami and Bulls championship team veteran Steve Kerr in Golden State. This past spring, Donovan, 60, was named to the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Class, based largely on his career as a college coach, having led the Florida Gators to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Donovan became head coach of the Bulls in September 2020 after five seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bulls and coach Billy Donovan agree to a contract extension
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls and coach Billy Donovan have agreed to a contract extension, the team said Sunday. The team did not reveal the length or financial terms of the contract. Donovan has a 195-205 record with one playoff appearance in five seasons as the Bulls' coach. Chicago went 39-43 for the second straight season and finished ninth in the Eastern Conference before getting knocked out of the play-in tournament by Miami for the third year in a row with a blowout loss at home. The poor showing against the Heat came after a 15-5 finish to the regular season, albeit when some opponents were tanking to boost their lottery odds and others were resting key players ahead of the playoffs. The Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso before last season and dealt Zach LaVine before the deadline in February. They also implemented a quicker pace. Coby White averaged a career-high 20.4 points and Josh Giddey came on strong down the stretch in his first season in Chicago. Chicago has been relatively quiet this offseason. The Bulls drafted Noa Essengue out of the French Basketball League with the No. 12 overall pick and traded Lonzo Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro. Donovan is 438-362 in 10 seasons as an NBA head coach. He was arguably the most attractive candidate on the market when the Bulls hired him in September 2020 to replace the fired Jim Boylen following a five-year run in Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to a 243-157 record and playoff appearances each season while working with stars such as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul. Donovan previously coached for 19 seasons at the University of Florida and won back-to-back NCAA titles. He is set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September. ___ AP NBA: Andrew Seligman, The Associated Press
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Bulls and coach Billy Donovan agree to a contract extension
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls and coach Billy Donovan have agreed to a contract extension, the team said Sunday. The team did not reveal the length or financial terms of the contract. Donovan has a 195-205 record with one playoff appearance in five seasons as the Bulls' coach. Chicago went 39-43 for the second straight season and finished ninth in the Eastern Conference before getting knocked out of the play-in tournament by Miami for the third year in a row with a blowout loss at home.
