1. Mike D’Antoni
So long as Mike D’Antoni remains uncommitted to an NBA team, he’ll continue to find himself at the top of these lists. Regardless of whether or not you believe he’s the best fit for the Chicago Bulls, no available coach has quite the successful pedigree D’Antoni does.
Dating all the way back to 1999, D’Antoni got started early in his efforts to revolutionize the game of basketball as a head coach. D’Antoni made a name for himself by fathering the infamous 7 Seconds or Less offense in Phoenix that took the Suns to the Conference Finals multiple times and helped Steve Nash win a pair of MVP awards. He was no one-hit wonder, however, as he also implemented the three-point-oriented offense in Houston that allowed James Harden to shine as the Rockets won 65 games and took the champion Golden State Warriors to the very brink.
D’Antoni has compiled an impeccable resume, serving as a head coach for 17 seasons and as an assistant for an additional 3, topping off his track record at an impressive two decades spent coaching in the league. He’s achieved a 672-527 record as a head coach and won a total of 54 playoff games throughout his career to date.
Bringing Mike D’Antoni aboard could help get the most out of the Chicago Bulls’ ‘Big 3’.
The biggest obstacle to hiring D’Antoni would have nothing to do with Chicago’s willingness to offer him a contract, but instead with convincing D’Antoni to even return as a coach at all. He’s currently serving an advisory role to New Orleans’ Willie Green at the moment. However, he hasn’t fully committed to his new job as a consultant if the right opportunity came along, “As much as he has enjoyed his current role and last season’s as an assistant for Steve Nash with the Nets in his first season, he said he would not rule out a return to coaching.”
It’s hard to say whether or not an opening on the Chicago Bulls would be enough to coax D’Antoni out of his temporary reprieve from coaching, but what we do know is that he’d be a great fit for a team trying to win now.
Between LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic, the Bulls are loaded up on offensive talent but simply don’t seem to know what to do with it all. Allowing D’Antoni to radically change this offense and once again work his magic is one of very few realistically viable routes to making this team a contender again. For that reason, I’d put D’Antoni at or at least near the top of the Bulls’ wish list, should they opt to move on from Donovan.