Bulls coach Billy Donovan deserves better than what he's been given

The Billy Donovan critics aren’t going to be persuaded.

They have 10 toes dug in, point to the 219-236 (.481 winning percentage) as Bulls head coach, and the fact that he believes in a tight leash with younger players over free rein and minutes.

The detractors lump Donovan in with a front office, maybe even the ownership and roster, as it’s all got to go. Scorched earth where all that’s left are the six banners, the Jordan statue, and the United Center.

The reality of the situation, however, is ownership is cemented, for the time being executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley will be allowed a second true rebuild, and players like Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis are the new foundation pieces.

As far as Donovan, be careful what you wish for.

He has given no indications that he’s not all in on trying to right the ship that Karnisovas has again run into an iceberg, and he has multiple years left on his current contract, but Donovan is as competitive a coach as there is. Yet, his front office continues to hand him a stick in a gunfight. That gets old quickly.

Name the top 15 player that Donovan has been able to coach since taking over Jim Boylen’s failed chair?

Ok, the top 25 player. Has there even been a top 50?

Let’s throw DeMar DeRozan in that group for argument's sake.

In his first year with DeRozan – likely a Hall of Famer – Donovan helped the veteran play some of the best all-around basketball of his 17-year career, all the while knowing that DeRozan’s mid-range game was going the way of the dodo bird, soon to be made extinct by an up-tempo, pace and space brand of basketball.

And that’s about where the list ends.

Nikola Vucevic was an All-Star caliber player for a time, while Zach LaVine dipped his toe in the pool a few seasons, but the overall grocery bag of talent Donovan has been handed has way more spoiled milk and moldy cheese than fine bottles of wine in it.

What can Donovan do with elite talent?

Well, he took Oklahoma City to the Western Conference Finals in 2016, and even had a 3-1 lead over the dynasty that was the Warriors, before a meltdown ensued and Kevin Durant decided a few months later it was easier to join Golden State than try and beat them.

And all Donovan did with elite talent at Florida was build it into a college basketball powerhouse, evident with back-to-back National Championships.

He’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason.

The only way Karnisovas is getting into the Hall of Fame is buying a ticket at the admissions booth, and now he’s asking Donovan, 60, to use these final 27 games to help the front office make roster decisions moving forward.

Which means he’s asking Donovan to lower the expectations of winning that the coach carries around like a badge.

Is this what Donovan signed up for?

The last elite coach to clean up the mistakes of a Bulls front office was Tom Thibodeau, and that ended with a knife in the back and cardboard box of office materials left at the loading dock.

For now, however, Donovan is saying the right things and trying to turn his focus from winning to something positive.

“I like it from the perspective of can we really, really help these guys?” Donovan said, when asked if this season was one of the bigger coaching challenges he’s gone through. “Because there are a lot of guys that have contracts and things like that, and you want to be able to help guys.

“Yeah, I haven’t necessarily gone through anything like this, so it is challenging.”