Joakim Noah loved handing out assists from the center position.
Compliments?
That was a bit more difficult for the former Bulls big man to toss in someone’s direction, unless that person was named Derrick Rose or Noah’s college coach Billy Donovan.
“I think Coach Donovan is somebody who cares about his players, but really cares about his guys,’’ Noah told ESPN back in 2015 when discussing his days with Donovan at Florida. “I know that if something ever happened to me, I know that he would be there for me, and that’s a great feeling. I always felt like it was more than basketball with Coach Donovan.
“He’s the best coach that I ever had. I got nothing but love for him. I have nothing bad to say about him. I think that he’s somebody who has great balance in his life ... we’re very similar in a lot of ways in terms of competitiveness. But very different, as well. I love the guy.’’
The question now being asked? How much does the new-look Bulls front-office regime “love the guy?’’
The search for a Bulls head coach took on some intrigue late Tuesday night, when Oklahoma City announced they were parting ways with Donovan after five seasons.
Multiple reports indicated that the Bulls would have interest in Donovan, and a source on Wednesday confirmed that they indeed do.
The good news? Donovan would be the most successful candidate in the pool with NBA head coaching experience. The bad news? Since when does Bulls ownership put the stamp of approval on the obvious, especially when it comes to head coaching hires.
What Bulls fans can rest easier with, however, is this offseason has definitely been a Michael Reinsdorf production, and that means the COO putting his trust in the executive vice president of basketball operations that he hired months ago.
Arturas Karnisovas has been busy conducting a first round of interviews that has been described as “vast’’ by one person with knowledge of the situation. A list that has included Mavericks assistants Jamahl Mosley and Stephen Silas, Philadelphia’s Ime Udoka, and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Current Bulls assistants Chris Fleming and Roy Rogers have also had sit-downs with Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, but are both considered long shots.
Donovan’s name falling into the mix — and the Bulls aren’t the only team interested in him – adds an entirely new layer to the search, however.
Unlike Atkinson, Donovan has actually won consistently at the NBA level. He finished his time with the Thunder with a .608 winning percentage and never finished below the .573 mark.
Donovan’s playoff numbers were less impressive (.439 winning percentage), but the Western Conference has been a powerhouse in that time, and there’s an argument to be made that he over-achieved with at least three of those teams.
The same can’t be said about Atkinson, who seems to be more hype than substance.
In his four seasons with Brooklyn, Atkinson finished at least .500 just once — 42-40 in the 2018-19 season — and was fired with a .383 overall winning percentage.
The concern is that several current and former NBA coaches have told the Sun-Times that Atkinson has a growing reputation as a bit of a self-promoter, and the Bulls just ridded themselves of a guy like that when they fired Jim Boylen last month.
If it did come down to Donovan or Atkinson it would seem like no contest.
Just ask Noah.
