Billy Donovan Steps Away From Bulls After Six Seasons — and the Rebuild Begins for Real

The Chicago Journal Staff 2 on April 30, 2026

CHICAGO, April 29, 2026 — The Billy Donovan era in Chicago is over. After six seasons, one playoff appearance, and a final year that saw the Bulls gut their roster at the trade deadline, trade away foundational veterans, and finish 31-51, the Hall of Fame head coach informed ownership he would not be returning — choosing to step aside rather than complicate what the Bulls’ ownership has described as a complete organizational reset.

Donovan held an option in his contract for next season and elected to step down after extensive meetings with team ownership. “After a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization, I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold,” Donovan said in a statement. “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.”

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf said: “Billy Donovan is one of the finest people and coaches I have had the privilege of knowing and working with. He brought class and genuine care to this organization that made a real impact on people. We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in question.”

A Coaching Tenure Defined by Institutional Failure

The numbers tell one version of the story. Donovan finished with a 226-256 record and is now fourth on the Bulls’ all-time wins list, but he only had one winning season and made just one playoff appearance. That was in 2022, when the Bulls were eliminated in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.

The more complete version goes deeper. Donovan’s record and lack of playoff success in Chicago say more about the rosters he had to work with than his ability as a coach. After all, he won two NCAA national championships at Florida and made the playoffs in all five seasons in charge of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

At 60, Donovan had emphasized several times that he missed the idea of coaching meaningful NBA games in May and June rather than having exit meetings in April. “When I got into coaching, I never did it for the money piece of it and I never really did it for notoriety,” Donovan said in his final media sessions. “I love the game, I loved competing. I never looked at it from a legacy standpoint as much as, ‘When the season comes to an end, how are we going to work to get into a place where we’re really competing?'”

That place never materialized. What did materialize was a franchise-wide reckoning that began April 6, when the Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley after six years that produced the same single playoff appearance Donovan managed on the court.

The Players Wanted Him to Stay — But the Math Said Otherwise

Two of the Bulls’ top players made their feelings clear when the decision was pending. “I want him to stay,” said Matas Buzelis. “I’m riding with him forever. He’s a cornerstone for my career.” Josh Giddey added: “I love him and hope he’s here for a long time.” Buzelis just completed his second year with the Bulls, averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Giddey completed an injury-riddled season at 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

The players’ sentiments were genuine. But the Bulls still felt like a fixer-upper kind of team, and at 60, Donovan couldn’t afford to wait for a three-year rebuild to play out. The logic was straightforward even if the outcome was difficult: having a new front office leader walk into a situation with a pre-existing coach already in place rarely produces alignment. Donovan saw that, and removed the friction point himself.

“Together, we mutually agreed that giving that person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach for everyone involved,” Bulls CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf said. “That is the kind of person Billy is — he put the Bulls first.”

What the Bulls Actually Have to Work With

The franchise enters its most consequential offseason in years with very little attached to it — and that, counterintuitively, is the asset. The Bulls tore up their roster at the trade deadline in February, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte, and Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota. They held onto Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey with the idea of building around those two. The Bulls have significant salary-cap room to make moves this offseason.

In a deep 2026 draft, Chicago will pick twice in the top 15 — a resource that makes the job appealing despite the roster’s current limitations. There are currently only eight players with guaranteed contracts for next season, giving whoever runs the new front office an almost blank canvas to work from.

The Coaching Search — and the Candidates

The Bulls face an unusual sequence: they are searching for a new head of basketball operations and a new head coach simultaneously, with the understanding that the basketball operations hire comes first and will drive the coaching decision.

The name generating the most Bulls-specific buzz in early speculation is former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, listed as the early frontrunner. During his six-year stint in Memphis, Jenkins went 250-214 with consecutive division championships in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Chicago’s young backcourt of Giddey, Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, and Anfernee Simons is considered a strong fit for his fast-paced offensive system.

Also generating significant Bulls-specific buzz is Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Charles Lee — known as the lead architect of that team’s player development system and previously a finalist for the Suns and Knicks jobs in 2025. Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell is another candidate explicitly named by multiple outlets, with NBA GMs ranking him a top-four assistant league-wide for three consecutive years.

From inside the building, lead assistant Wes Unseld Jr. — who has previous head coaching experience with the Washington Wizards and served as acting head coach when Donovan missed games this season — is also considered a candidate, with analysts noting he knows this roster better than anyone outside of it.

A Franchise at a Crossroads Chicago Knows Well

The Bulls have been at crossroads before. After Michael Jordan’s second retirement, the franchise spent more than a decade rebuilding before Derrick Rose briefly made them relevant again. After Rose’s injuries, another decade of wandering followed.

As one Chicago-based columnist put it this week: “The Bulls have no front office, no real roster, and now no coach. Hey, they’re all set.” The sarcasm cuts because it contains a truth Chicago fans have internalized over many years — the franchise has spent too long in what one writer called the “meaningless middle,” winning almost half their games but never building anything of consequence.

Donovan’s exit, painful as it may be for those who respected him, clears that middle ground. The Bulls now have draft capital, cap space, two young foundational pieces, and the freedom to build from scratch. Whether ownership has the discipline and vision to execute that rebuild correctly is the question Chicago basketball has been asking for years. The coaching hire will be the first real answer.

Home Improvement Mistakes That Cost Homeowners the Most

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 30, 2026

The home improvement market has never been more accessible. With tutorials available for almost every project and materials easy to order online, more homeowners than ever are taking on repairs and renovations themselves. But accessibility cuts both ways. The same ease that encourages DIY also makes it easier to skip steps, underestimate complexity, or make small decisions that create large problems down the line. Some of the most expensive repair bills homeowners face trace back to mistakes that could have been avoided with a little more preparation.

Structural and Fastener Errors

Using the wrong screws for the job

It sounds minor, but fastener choice has a significant impact on how long a project holds up. One of the most common errors is reaching for whatever screws are available rather than selecting the right type for the material and load involved. Wood screws are specifically designed for timber-to-timber connections, with thread patterns and tip geometry that grip wood fibers effectively without splitting the material. Using drywall screws in structural wood applications, for example, is a frequent mistake. They are brittle under shear load and will fail in ways that are not always visible until the joint gives way.

Star Fasteners Plus carries a wide range of wood screws suited to different project types, which is a useful starting point when specifying fasteners for any timber build.

Skipping structural reinforcement

Beyond fasteners, homeowners often underestimate how much reinforcement load-bearing elements require. Decks, pergolas, stair stringers, and built-in shelving all involve forces that work against joints over time. A connection that feels solid on day one can loosen progressively under repeated load, seasonal movement, and moisture cycling. Specifying the correct fastener type and quantity from the beginning is far cheaper than retrofitting failed connections later.

Planning and Preparation Failures

Starting without accurate measurements

An enormous proportion of costly mistakes happen before a single tool is picked up. Inaccurate measurements lead to wasted materials, ill-fitting components, and structural misalignments that compound as a project progresses. In cabinetry and built-in furniture work, a measurement error of a few millimeters can make the difference between a clean fit and a visible gap that requires additional work to resolve.

Ignoring permits and code requirements

Homeowners frequently skip the permit process to save time or money, only to discover later that unpermitted work must be removed or rebuilt to pass inspection before a property can be sold. Structural additions, electrical work, and plumbing changes almost always require permits in most US jurisdictions. The National Association of Home Builders urges homeowners to vet contractors carefully and confirm that proper permits are pulled before work begins, since unpermitted projects can create costly problems when a property is later inspected, refinanced, or sold.

The Bigger Picture

Most expensive home improvement mistakes share a common thread. They are the result of prioritizing speed or upfront savings over doing the job correctly. The materials cost of getting fasteners, measurements, and planning right from the start is negligible compared to the remediation cost of getting them wrong. For homeowners taking on projects of any scale, that trade-off is worth keeping front of mind before the first screw goes in.

Investing in Purpose and Why the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs Is Redefining the Future of Business

The Chicago Journal Staff on April 30, 2026

New York City, April 2026. The Youth Business Summit at the Javits Center has long been a space where ideas compete for visibility, funding, and global recognition. This year, however, it revealed something far more important than trends or technologies. It offered a glimpse into the future of business itself, a future shaped not only by innovation, but by intention.

Among the standout participants was Indonesia’s Team Biru, a group of young entrepreneurs whose approach signals a broader shift in how value is created and perceived. Their project, eco-friendly tumblers made from recycled plastic collected from Indonesian beaches, addresses a global environmental issue while demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of product-market relevance. Yet what made them exceptional was not just their solution, but the framework behind it.

They built a product. But more importantly, they built meaning around it.

For consumers who are increasingly selective in saturated markets, differentiation is no longer achieved through functionality alone. It is achieved through purpose, storytelling, and emotional resonance. Team Biru intuitively understood this. Their concept aligned with global sustainability goals, and their ability to translate that alignment into a compelling narrative gave the project lasting promise.

This is where the conversation becomes strategic.

The rise of purpose-driven entrepreneurship is not a trend. It is a structural shift. Investors, corporations, and institutions are increasingly prioritizing ventures that integrate environmental and social impact into their core models. According to multiple global reports, ESG-aligned companies are showing stronger brand loyalty and long-term valuation than traditional models. What Team Biru represents is not an isolated success story. It is a preview of what scalable, future-ready businesses will look like.

At the center of the team’s execution was Sabine Tesla Amadine, who served as Chief Operating Officer for Team Biru. Her leadership highlights another critical evolution in business: the importance of human capital not only as a resource, but as a strategic differentiator.

Her approach combined operational discipline with emotional intelligence, a balance that is becoming essential in global markets. In high-pressure environments, the ability to build trust, foster connection, and create meaningful engagement is no longer optional. It is increasingly central to how teams stand out.

This is particularly relevant when we consider how early-stage ventures grow.

Startups often focus heavily on product development and market entry, but overlook the importance of experience design, including how their brand is perceived, felt, and remembered. Team Biru’s success at the summit was driven by their ability to integrate all three layers: product, message, and human interaction. Their booth was not just a display; it was an experience. Their communication was not just informative, it was immersive.

This level of awareness, at such an early stage, is precisely why the next generation of entrepreneurs deserves strategic attention.

Because the real opportunity is not only to celebrate them, but to invest in them.

For corporations, this means rethinking partnership models. Instead of viewing young founders as early-stage risks, they can be seen as innovation partners, agile, culturally aware, and deeply connected to emerging consumer behavior. Strategic collaborations, incubators, and mentorship programs can accelerate both sides, providing startups with infrastructure while giving corporations access to fresh thinking and adaptability.

For investors, the implication is equally clear. Traditional metrics remain important, but they can be complemented by a deeper analysis of narrative strength, mission alignment, and founder mindset. Teams like Biru show that clarity of purpose can support brand differentiation and meaningful customer relationships over time.

And for institutions and policymakers, there is a responsibility to create ecosystems where this kind of entrepreneurship can thrive. Access to global platforms, education, funding, and cross-border collaboration will determine how effectively these young innovators can transition from potential to performance.

Because the stakes are higher than individual success stories.

We are entering an era where the challenges businesses are expected to solve, climate change, sustainability, and social impact, are systemic. They require not only innovation but a shift in perspective. The next generation is already operating within that mindset. They are not separating profit from purpose. They are integrating them.

Team Biru is a clear example of this integration in action.

Their journey at the Youth Business Summit is not just a milestone. It is a signal. A signal that the future of business will be built by those who understand that value is multidimensional. Those products must carry meaning. That brands must create a connection. And that leadership must extend beyond execution into influence.

As global markets evolve, the question is no longer whether companies should support young entrepreneurs. The question is how quickly they can adapt to working with them.

Because the future is already here.

It is collaborative. It is purpose-driven. And it is being built by those who are bold enough to rethink what business can be.

Supporting them is not charity. It is a strategy.