Certain names are already starting to come about in the Chicago Bulls new head coaching search to replace the departed Jim Boylen.
The news that so many wanted to hear in the Chicago Bulls camp finally arrived on the morning of Aug. 14. Now former head coach Jim Boylen was relieved of his duties on Friday morning, and names have already started leaking out as to potential candidates to interview to replace him. There already seemed to be a shortlist of names between assistants like Ime Udoka and Adrian Griffin.
But no concrete favorite was released or rumored to the public as of yet. Udoka and Griffin could still be some potential front runners to watch. Two additional names that did appear in a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on Aug. 14 shared that two other names to watch include the former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson and Nuggets assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr.
It also seems like the newly hired executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley actually did take more of a patient approach with their Boylen decision. They wanted to wait at least until the regular season came closer to its end in the midst of the NBA’s restart in the bubble at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.
Karnisovas said regular season ending today and draft lottery/draft process upcoming were reasons for change getting made now.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) August 14, 2020
With signs pointing to in-market, voluntary group workouts getting cleared for Sept., that likely is another reason/sheds light on possible timeline.
With the regular season in the NBA’s restart at Disney World wrapping up on Aug. 14 (except for the play-in game anticipated between the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies for the eight seed in the Western Conference this weekend), Karnisovas appeared to keep to his word.
Here’s a look into three early coaching candidates to watch to replace Boylen for the Bulls this offseason.