Bulls coach Billy Donovan is already building a strong foundation in Chicago, working to establish relationships with his players and instill a respected culture within the team, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes.
Donovan, who’s set to start his first season as head coach of the Bulls this week, spent the past five years coaching the Thunder. He led Oklahoma City to a surprising 44-28 record last season, good for the fifth-best in the Western Conference.
“He has a great track record with his players and he has done a great job so far of telling us what he needs out of us,” veteran forward Thaddeus Young said. “We had a meeting (early in camp) and he took time to really sit down as a team and tell us, ‘These are the things we need to do to win basketball game(s) and these are the things we need to do in order to fight through this thing.’ I think he’s done a great job so far.’’
Donovan hopes to guide the Bulls to their first playoff appearance since the 2016/17 season, leading a group that consists of Zach LaVine, Coby White, Wendell Carter Jr., Patrick Williams and others.
Here are some other notes from the Central Division:
- K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago examines how Garrett Temple could immediately help the Bulls in a separate story for NBC Sports Chicago. Temple, the team’s only acquisition in free agency, finished his first practice on Sunday after quarantining due to COVID-19. “Just talking guys through certain things that I see, whether it be defensive things, offensively or just making sure we stay together,” Temple said. “If a team goes on a 5-0 run, 10-0 run that we stay together and not put our heads down. Things of that nature are some things I think I can help out with right away.”
- The Pacers expect to have Myles Turner and T.J. Warren available for their season opener against the Knicks on Wednesday, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star writes. Turner had been coping with a concussion, while Warren had been dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. “They were in a full physical, contact practice today and they looked good,” coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “There was a lot on 5-on-5. That’s what I would expect. They’re getting the green light to get closer and closer to that.”
- A criminal justice group has submitted a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver with hopes of forcing Pistons owner Tom Gores to sell the franchise, according to Davide Scigliuzzo of Bloomberg (via The Detroit News). The group’s concerns lie with Gores’ financial interest in Securus Technologies Inc., which came under fire this year for charging prisoners as much as $25 for a 15-minute call, Scigliuzzo writes.
25 for a 15 minute phone call? Terrible service. Sounds like they could use more bars.
Badump tiss
{“Mr. Gores continues to amass wealth and benefit from a system that exploits Black people and profits from their pain,” wrote Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, the organization that placed the ad…
Platinum Equity, the buyout firm run by Gores, has owned Securus since 2017.
… his firm’s priority at Securus is to “shoulder the heavy lifting necessary to transform the company and the industry, and do so in collaboration with a broad coalition of groups and individuals.”
Gores has pledged to put any personal profits from his investment in Securus back into the company to pursue the planned reforms.
In October, Gores resigned from the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art after his role on the board was criticized by activists, artists and donors…
parent company was renamed Aventiv Technologies. }”
It is hilarious that Gores tried to manage (blow off) the situation by pledging to reinvest with the profits.
No one should be making money from prison system. Just another form of systemic racism. NBA has a right to monitor their owners.
Not a Donovan fan. Overrated to me. I want to watch Oladipo play. He look tentative in preseason to me. I know it’s early. And probably will take time for him to get 100%. I don’t see Pacers resigning him. I’m sure teams will be scouting him. Probably be moved by TD.
He can sell his interest. He is not racist. The NBA ratings are in the tank because of mixing sports with politics. I still watch because I love the game but I could see why a casual fan would leave.
Rating don’t matter, cable is doomed anyway. NBA has so many revenue streams and so many more to come. Conservatives made it about politics, players were only focused on social issues that significantly impact their community.
As a Bulls fan, I’m very excited about the upcoming season for the first time in years. They looked good in preseason and seem to finally have things pointed in the right direction. GO BULLS!