Chicago Bulls’ nightmare season deepened Sunday with a crushing 32-point loss to the Golden State Warriors, marking their seventh consecutive defeat. As despair blankets the team, coach Billy Donovan walks a razor’s edge between trying to rebuild harmony and sending a blunt message to a locker room already fraying at the seams.
“I think [the disconnect] is the details,” Donovan admitted. “We’re not gifted enough or good enough to not [address those], and we’ve got to stay focused. [Fixing the] disconnect is when they care enough about each other in that locker room — that’s when it will get done.”
But fostering unity is proving far from easy. Sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times that the team’s chemistry is unraveling under the weight of losses, with veterans scrambling to hold the group together. Guard Coby White, the Bulls’ longest-tenured player, has emerged as a key stabilizer, stepping into the fire to curb finger-pointing while still holding teammates accountable.
White reportedly delivered an impromptu speech last week emphasizing the importance of honesty and cohesion. “We’re a close group — we’ve got a lot of great relationships on this team,” White said. “[But] we’ve got to continue to have the honest conversations we’re having with each other, continue to grow.”
Yet the challenges facing the Bulls extend beyond simple team dynamics. Several players, including White, Nikola Vučević, Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, Ayo Dosunmu, and Jevon Carter, will become unrestricted free agents next summer. Meanwhile, Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry face pivotal decisions as their rookie deals near expiration. Sources describe the combination of losing streak and looming contracts as a potential powder keg, one that could blow open if frustrations aren’t managed carefully.
Donovan has repeatedly addressed the contract situations with the team, highlighting the need for players to support one another despite uncertainty. “In the adversity we’re going through — the losing, whatever it is — I think your true colors come out in who you are and your competitive character,” Donovan said. “The [only] way I worry about it right now is, how about the guys that are going into the last year of a contract? How about taking care of those guys? That would be my mentality [as a teammate].”
The coach’s message is clear: personal interests cannot outweigh team responsibility. “We have an opportunity to go in there every single night and say, ‘You know what? I know he’s going into the last year. I’m going to try and do everything I can to make sure he gets taken care of, man. He’s open — I’m going to find him,’” Donovan said. “That’s really what you do.”
Despite the heavy losses, Donovan remains cautiously optimistic about his players’ intentions. “I don’t believe we have that kind of group in there, in my opinion. I could be wrong. That’s how I feel. [We’ll keep pushing] that mentality that, ‘You know what, my own individual stuff comes second,’” he said.
With the Bulls now at 9-14 after an explosive 5-0 start to the season, time is running out. The team has four days off before their next game Friday night against Charlotte — not nearly enough, according to insiders, to repair a locker room in disarray.
The question looms: can Chicago’s veterans salvage trust and restore cohesion before the situation spirals further, or are these cracks too deep to mend? The answer could define the future of this Bulls roster — and the fate of Billy Donovan’s season.
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