Bulls Rumors: Maurice Cheeks, Josh Longstaff Hired to Billy Donovan's Staff
The Chicago Bulls will reportedly hire Josh Longstaff and Maurice Cheeks to be assistants under head coach Billy Donovan, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Longstaff has spent the past two years with the Milwaukee Bucks and has made several other notable stops in the NBA:
It will be part of a new administration for the Bulls under Donovan, who was announced as the new head coach in September after spending five seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cheeks previously spent the last five seasons under Donovan as an assistant in Oklahoma City. He brings a calming voice to the locker room and head coaching experience, having spent parts of nine seasons leading an NBA bench.
It's part of a major shakeup since the end of last season that also includes the hiring of Arturas Karnisovas as the executive vice president of basketball operations and Marc Eversley as the general manager.
The Bulls are hoping for a change after three straight losing seasons, including last year's 22-43 mark.
In five years under Fred Hoiberg and Jim Boylen, the team has one playoff appearance that resulted in a first-round exit.
Longstaff has experienced much more success in recent years, working for a Bucks squad that has produced the best regular-season record in the NBA in each of the last two seasons.
In 2017-18, he was the head coach of the Erie Bay Hawks and led the G League squad to the Eastern Conference Finals in its inaugural season.
He started his coaching career as a player personnel and video coordinator with the Thunder in 2010, eventually getting his first assistant coach job with the Knicks in 2016-17.
According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, he was also the favorite coach of Kristaps Porzingis while in New York, even becoming his "confidant."
Longstaff and Cheeks will now hope to get the most out of the Chicago roster filled with young talent like Zach LaVine, Coby White, Wendell Carter and Lauri Markkanen.
