Changes are already underway for the Chica♔go Bulls
According to , the Bulls coaching staff is due for a shuffle. HOF player and long-time coach Maurice Cheeks is reportedly leaving his position as a full-time member of Donovan’s staff. He has been with the Bulls since Donovan made the journey over from OKC, where Cheeks also served under Donovan for his entire tenure.
Charania does note that Cheeks could remain a member of Donovan’s staff in a lesser role. For what it’s worth, Cheeks has garnered praise from some of the Bulls players in the past. Turning 68 years old in Septemb꧃er, however, it sounds like Cheeks may be ready to move into a different phase of his career.
The other significant change will come with the full departure of Chris Fleming. The assistant coach has been a member of the Bulls’ staff ever since 2019 when he served as the lead assistant for Jim Boylen. Donovan kept him on the bench during the transition of power, but it appears he now believes a new voice is needed in the locker room.
While nothing should come as a huge surprise after the past couple of seasons, moving on from Fleming is certainly notable. Not only has he been in the building for quite some time, but he’s even been interviewed for head coaching gigs in the past. With that in mind, 🌠I have ꧟to imagine Fleming will find another home in the near future.
confirmed both coaching adjustments, reiterating that Cheeks will remain with the franchise but no longer hold responsibilities as a full-time assistant. He also alerted us that assistant John Bry🔯ant is likely to receive a promotion, while Josh Longstaff .
I got to be honest, I’m a big fan of giving both coaches a bigger voice. Longstaff is one of the younger minds on the team and found success as an assistant in Milwaukee before joining Donovan’s staff. As for Bryant, he should be on Bulls fans’ radar from his work at Summer League. He’s coached the team in Las Vegas for the past two years.
Even with the promotions, the Bulls will now have a couple of full-time coaching positions to fill. I’ll be curious to see if they already have some names in mind or if they wait until the full NBA season is over to get a better idea of who is up for grabs.
Regardless, this is our first real glimpse of the change Arturas Karnisovas talked about during his end-of-season press conference. And that’s a good thing! If he thinks this is enough to set the team up better moving forward, however, he’s sadly mistaken. Keep the moves coming!
