This partnership was not working. Donovan was consistent in Chicago, but that did not translate into success<\/a>. The Bulls lost 30 more games than they won during Donovan\u2019s tenure. Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Matas Buzelis provided success stories in player development, but the last six years did not produce the type of talented young core that could actually lift the team to competitiveness in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n Donovan seemed to understand the realities of the upcoming transition. When CEO and President Michael Reinsdorf proclaimed that any executive who didn\u2019t want to inherit the coaching staff would be a bad fit for the Bulls, Donovan brushed it off as flattery. Ultimately, the coach made a decision<\/a> that ownership couldn\u2019t make itself<\/a>, clearing the way for a clean break that will allow the Bulls to reassemble its leadership from the top down.<\/p>\n So what comes next? Reinsdorf will have to solve that problem \u2014 and fill two vacancies \u2014 on his own.<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare for the Bulls to enter a summer with a slate this clean. The Reinsdorfs have only cleaned house three times in their family\u2019s extensive history with the Bulls. Donovan\u2019s decision now forces the Bulls to put the first thing first by focusing on the executive position,<\/a> then allowing that hire to select a head coach of their choosing.<\/p>\n The Bulls are now engaged in the initial steps of the hiring process, which includes retaining the executive search firm TurnkeyZRG, according to a source. According to an ESPN report, the Bulls plan interviews in the coming weeks with Detroit Pistons senior vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey; Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd; Atlanta Hawks senior vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham; Cleveland Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey; San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Dave Telep; and Creative Artists Agency co-head of basketball Austin Brown.<\/p>\n The obvious frontrunner for this position is Lloyd, who has risen in the ranks of estimation around the league in the nearly 14 years since he first left Chicago. Lloyd has been a top target for the Bulls since the start of this search, multiple sources confirmed, and ownership requested permission to interview him earlier this week.<\/p>\n Lloyd is an analytics-driven executive who cares deeply about the process of evaluating, acquiring and developing talent. For a team like the Bulls at the start of a rebuild process, this is the type of profile that should be a perfect match. But familiarity is perhaps the greatest asset for Lloyd, a Chicago native who worked his way up from the video room to a scouting director over more than a decade with the Bulls.<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-z-Draft-Combine-Basketball_116275407.jpg\")
Chicago Bulls’ John Paxton left, and Matt Lloyd, with the Orlando Magic, talk during the NBA draft basketball combine Friday, May 18, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Charles Rex Arbogast)<\/p>\n