Billy Donovan Reportedly Joins Spurs Staff After 11 Seasons as NBA HC for Bulls, Thunder

Billy Donovan is reportedly returning to the coaching ranks next season, only he will do so in an assistant role.

ESPN's Shams Charania and Pete Thamel reported Thursday the former Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls head coach will become the San Antonio Spurs' lead assistant coach under head coach Mitch Johnson.

Donovan was available because he stepped down from his role as the head coach of the Bulls on April 21 following "a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization. …  I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit."

He didn't exactly enjoy sustained success with the Bulls after taking over the role before the 2020-21 campaign.

Chicago went 226-256 in his six seasons with one playoff appearance and three additional play-in appearances. Donovan wasn't exactly working with top-notch rosters, though, and the front office and ownership struggled to build a team capable of competing at the highest level.

And then when the organization decided to pivot, it was unable to net a single additional first-round draft pick in trading away players such as Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball.

Donovan was in a better position with the Thunder and went to the playoffs in each of his five seasons with a combined record of 243-157.

His best season came when he led the 2015-16 OKC squad to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games.

Despite the success with the Thunder, Donovan may be best known for his dominant run as the head coach of Florida at the collegiate level. He won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, reached four Final Fours, won six SEC regular-season titles, and won four conference tournament crowns.

Now he joins a Spurs team that is coming off an NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks with a young core that appears ready to compete for championships for the foreseeable future.

The group is headlined by Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper and may have been ahead of schedule when it reached the NBA Finals this past season. Johnson faced some criticism for his coaching in the loss to the Knicks, so adding a veteran coach to his staff could help him make some strides as well.

If that happens, it would be anything but surprising if the Spurs won the title next season.