Similarities between the two
Drawing comparisons between Luke Walton and Jim Boylen in this regard can be a difficult task since these are very different situations at hand. Boylen was hired later on than Walton, but also could have a very short time frame with his current team in the Windy City.
However, both Walton and Boylen could become solid coaches given the right circumstances. It seems like Boylen would need to update his playing style a bit for it to succeed in today’s NBA standard. His old-school paint play doesn’t suit what the Bulls have in the rotation right now, or help this rebuild effectively come together in the next few years.
The signs are looming for both head coaches that each needs to do some reflecting and figure out why each situation didn’t work out. It wasn’t really the scheme or the playing style that Walton put forward that could cost him his job. Handling this situation with LeBron in the fold just wasn’t going to work in Walton’s favor either way.
Meanwhile, Boylen could’ve made some sort of visible progress with this Bulls roster that could help him stay in the Windy City past this coming off-season. The unfortunate part for him was that most of the starters and bigger talents on the roster weren’t healthy for most of the season. There wasn’t much to work off of, though, that shows that Boylen should stick around.