Former Thunder head coach Billy Donovan recently landed the Chicago Bulls’ head coaching job. Chicago Sun-Times on him as he settles in to his new job:
Billy Donovan is about to do his best to make this roster excuse proof.
There will be no more, ‘’They took away my mid-range,’’ “This new offense has been a big change,’’ or “My arms are sore from practice pushups,’’ coming from players.
The new Bulls head coach isn’t into making players change their strengths to fit his system. Instead, he will build a system that fits what this roster does well.
Refreshing?
Well, more like actually just what a good coach does.
“The first thing I’ll do is watch a lot of film,’’ Donovan said recently, when discussing the transition he will be making in his new gig. “I think being in the league for five years, even though we’re playing in the West, you’re playing Chicago twice so you have a feel for some of those guys. But I also think too, one of the things I’ve always felt like is important when you’re building out different things offensively is I think you’ve got to spend time with players to let me hear from them how do they want to be used. How do they feel like they’re most effective? What are things they feel most comfortable doing? How can you take advantage of their skillset and their offense? And I think you go through that with the players and talking to them and getting their opinions and their thoughts.
“And then you build out from there of how you want to play.’’
Beyond Donovan and the Bulls, it would be fascinating to learn more about how players say they feel they should be used and what coaches actually do with them. It’s safe to say that most NBA players have a firm understanding on what they’re best at on a basketball court. The hard part comes after they’ve named their obvious best attribute or two.
Donovan has a tough job ahead of him. The roster he’s dealing with needs work.
