\u201cIf I interview someone and they\u2019re not sold on Billy, they\u2019re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach, they\u2019re not sold on a person who has won championships in college and who has gone deep in the playoffs with Oklahoma City, who I believe with the Chicago Bulls, every year, given the team that he was given, he achieved really good results,\u201d Reinsdorf said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the results that we wanted, but that\u2019s not because of Billy. So if someone is not interested in Billy as our coach and Billy wants to be our coach, then they\u2019re probably not the right candidate for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donovan might be a good guy and a great coach<\/a>, but to suggest he\u2019s blameless for the Bulls\u2019 woes is a reach.<\/p>\n Either way, it was deja vu all over again for Chicago sports fans.<\/p>\n In 2020, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was bypassed in the managerial selection process because Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wanted to hire his old friend, Tony La Russa.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut his hiring is not based on friendship or on what happened years ago, but on the fact that we have the opportunity to have one of the greatest managers in the game\u2019s history in our dugout at a time when we believe our team is poised for great accomplishments,\u201d Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement.<\/p>\n Ownership has its privileges, and apparently so does being the son of the owner.<\/p>\n My pick to click If Michael Reinsdorf wants a top executive who is a good communicator with a high basketball IQ and nows how to spot trends, he should probably look at Atlanta Hawks assistant GM Kyle Korver, whom he already knows.<\/p>\n Like the Bulls, the Hawks were underachieving most of this season. Unlike the Bulls, they didn\u2019t give up. Even after GM Onsi Saleh traded longtime star Trea Young<\/a> to the Washington Wizards in early January, the Hawks were treading water at 27-31 on Feb. 21. But they went 18-2 in their next 20 before a loss Monday to the New York Knicks to mold themselves into real contenders in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n The Hawks figure to finish as the No. 5 or 6 seed and can ride the wave into the conference finals if they get the right matchups. All-Star Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have developed into prime-time players, with Onyeka Okongwu and Dyson Daniels leading the supporting cast. Coach Quinn Snyder deserves credit for not letting the team cash it in when things looked bleak.<\/p>\n Korver, a former Bull who started in player development with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021, has been the Hawks assistant GM since January 2023. He played for the Bulls from 2010-12 during the \u201cGarPax\u201d era, <\/a>and when he was traded to the Hawks in the summer of \u201912, Korver told the Tribune\u2019s KC Johnson it was \u201cexciting not to be frozen in January and February.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I obviously loved Chicago a bunch,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Maybe freezing in January and February would appeal to Korver now?<\/p>\n Puzzlin\u2019 evidence The question isn\u2019t why the White Sox sent down opening-day starter Shane Smith<\/a> to Triple-A Charlotte after the right-hander gave up 12 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits, nine walks and one hit-by-pitch over 8 1\/3 innings in his first three starts. It\u2019s why they gave him the opening-day start in the first place after he gave up 13 runs (12 earned) on 11 hits, nine walks and five hit-by-pitches over 10 2\/3 innings in the Cactus League.<\/p>\n The Sox made a video in Arizona of Smith getting the news<\/a> of his opening-day start from manager Will Venable, with Venable telling an emotional Smith he had \u201cearned it.\u201d But in truth, Davis Martin earned the nod but was bypassed. The Sox obviously wanted Smith to be their ace and chose him despite a poor spring. Smith can still be that guy when he gets back, but hopefully he\u2019ll earn his promotion this time. And maybe the Sox marketing department can stop making videos of manager-player meetings for clicks.<\/p>\n Old-man takes<\/p>\n The Final Four, which moves to Ford Field in Detroit next year, made a ton of money for the NCAA at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Still, it never should be held in a football stadium, and the title game should be held in March to make the slogan work. \u2026 Illinois coach Brad Underwood told the Score\u2019s \u201cMully & Haugh Show\u201d he didn\u2019t watch the title game between Michigan and UConn.<\/a> He cited \u201csour grapes\u201d as his excuse, perhaps facetiously, after losing to the Huskies in the semifinals. We get it, coach. You took the loss hard. That shouldn\u2019t mean you lose interest in your sport just to prove you\u2019re taking it hard. \u2026 I\u2019m going to miss watching Angel Reese\u2019s fashion videos from the Met Gala<\/a> now that she\u2019s no longer with the Chicago Sky.<\/a> She might have been the greatest self-promoter in Chicago sports since Nick Swisher. Not that that\u2019s a bad thing. \u2026 Nothing gets me choked up like watching ESPN\u2019s Wright Thompson\u2019s vignettes from the Masters about the $1.50 pimento sandwiches and the azaleas in bloom and the time Jack Nicklaus outdueled Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller in 1975. <\/a><\/p>\n One more thing<\/p>\n Watching Michael Reinsdorf\u2019s Zoom on the Bulls situation Tuesday gave me flashbacks to the 1990s, when his father regularly spoke with White Sox beat writers to give his controversial views on issues.<\/p>\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-SOX-REINSDORFS.jpg\")
White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, left, talks with manager Tony La Russa before Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Astros on Oct. 10 2021, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-BULLS-KORVER.jpg\")
The Bulls’ Kyle Korver watches a free throw against the Rockets on April 2, 2012, at the United Center. (Nuccio DiNuzzo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-sox-orioles028.jpg\")
White Sox manager Will Venable walks back to the dugout after checking on starter Shane Smith against the Orioles on April 7, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n