Grading Chicago Bulls coaching hires
The Bulls have now hired three additional assistant coaches to bring onto the staff of Donovan with the Bulls. There could be room for one or two more hires, depending on anymore shifts that Donovan makes to the current staff at hand. To at least replace the assistants he parted ways with, there’s room for one more at the moment.
And here’s a look at some of the hires made thus far.
John Bryant, Assistant Coach
The former Philadelphia 76ers and Nigerian National Team assistant coach John Bryant was one of the early additions to Donovan’s staff. Bryant was at least the first of the three significant assistant coaches hired. His most recent role that he held was under now former Sixers head coach Brett Brown in Philly.
Bryant was originally hired as the Sixers player development coach entering the 2016-17 season. He was on staff with the Sixers since then. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the Delaware 87ers in the D-League. This looks like a solid hire with past connections with Eversley.
Grade: B
Josh Longstaff, Assistant Coach
Among the younger staff hires on either the coaching staff or in the scouting department, maybe the most notable is the former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Josh Longstaff. The Bulls made a really nice hire with Longstaff, who was brought aboard within the last week. Longstaff held various roles around the NBA and G-League, most recently as a Bucks assistant under head coach Mike Budenholzer since the start of the 2018-19 season.
Longstaff also was a longtime member of the staff of the Thunder, so there’s a past connection there with Donovan. He’s a bright young mind that is respected around the NBA coaching landscape.