3) Chicago Bulls who benefit from Billy Donovan hiring: Tomas Satoransky
Although it doesn’t appear that former Washington Wizards combo guard Tomas Satoransky has his name on the chopping block this offseason, it shouldn’t be all that surprising to most Bulls fans if he gets traded in the right deal. Sato had a solid start to his inaugural season in a Bulls uniform, but his play definitely waned down the stretch during the 2019-20 campaign.
Sato wound up playing in all 65 games for the Bulls prior to the pause (starting in all but the last one). He averaged 9.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks. Sato shot 43.0 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.6 percent from the free-throw line.
You can’t really fault just Sato or Boylen alone for the dip in efficiency and per game stats down the stretch. Sometimes players just go cold, and there seemed to be a lack of confidence coming back Sato especially with his shooting. But the hiring of former Thunder and Florida Gators basketball head coach Donovan might be just the change that Sato needs in the Windy City.
Where Donovan could use Sato in the best fashion possible is by relying on him as less of his own shot creator, and more of an efficient distributor and good catch-and-shoot guard. A career-low 34.1 percent of Sato’s two-point field goal attempts were assisted this season, and the same could be said for his attempts beyond the arc.