The numbers don’t lie—and they’re brutal. Billy Donovan’s tenure with the Chicago Bulls now sits at 195–206, a record that would have triggered an instant firing in almost any other NBA market. Yet somehow, inexplicably, Donovan keeps receiving extensions. Not one. Not two. Multiple extensions for a coach who has delivered sub-.500 basketball, year after year, with no clear direction and even fewer results.
And while fans are furious with Donovan, the outrage toward the front office is boiling over even faster. Because if Donovan’s record is a fireable offense, then the decision to reward that record might be the most damning indictment of Chicago’s ownership and management to date.
This isn’t just a coaching problem—this is a systemic failure.
Donovan arrived in Chicago with promises of structure, accountability, and a modern offensive system. What fans received instead was a carousel of inconsistency, blown leads, unfinished development arcs, and a team that could never find its identity. Even when the Bulls landed DeMar DeRozan, built around Zach LaVine, and hoped Nikola Vucevic would anchor a new era, the progress never materialized.
Chicago has hovered in NBA purgatory—too good to tank, too bad to contend, too confused to commit to either direction.
But the most shocking part?
The franchise rewarded Donovan for it.
Rather than letting the results guide their decisions, the Bulls doubled down, handing out extensions behind closed doors with no transparency and no explanation. Fans weren’t just blindsided—they were insulted. How does a sub-.500 track record earn job security? Why is a stagnating roster being led by the same voice, with the same results, and the same excuses?
If Donovan’s tenure is unremarkable, the front office’s performance is unforgivable.
Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley built this roster, chose this direction, and approved these extensions. They believed continuity would lead to breakthroughs—even though the evidence overwhelmingly suggested it was leading to collapse.
While other NBA teams aggressively upgrade, adapt, and innovate, Chicago stands still. No big swings, no bold trades, no ruthless decisions. Instead, they’ve watched the team deteriorate while doubling down on their own mistakes.
It’s one thing for a coach to underperform.
It’s another for the front office to reward that underperformance.
Chicago fans are famously loyal, but even loyalty has limits. Social media is erupting after every loss, every blown rotation, every stagnant possession. The patience that once accompanied Donovan’s early years has turned into an avalanche of frustration.
The core problem is now impossible to ignore:
There is no roadmap. No identity. No urgency.
Players look disconnected. The locker room looks uninspired. The system looks outdated. And the coach tasked with fixing all of it? He’s already been extended—twice.
The cold truth is unavoidable:
The Bulls are running out of excuses.
If the team continues down this path, the pressure won’t just fall on Billy Donovan—it will crash down on the front office that enabled him. Chicago is a proud franchise, but pride means nothing without accountability.
And right now, accountability is nowhere to be found.
The question no one inside the organization seems ready to answer is the exact one every fan is now screaming:
If this is acceptable… what isn’t?
Because unless something drastic changes—and fast—the Bulls are headed toward a breaking point that extensions and excuses can’t save them from.
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