Bulls Eye Cavaliers Assistant Johnnie Bryant to Replace Billy Donovan. Smart Hire or Lateral Move?
The Chicago Bulls are searching for a new head coach. Billy Donovan stepped down last month after six seasons that produced exactly one playoff appearance and a string of mid-tier rosters that never quite figured out who they were.
The latest name in the search is Johnnie Bryant. The Cavaliers granted Chicago permission to interview their associate head coach on Tuesday. Bryant is the 11th candidate the Bulls have brought into the process, which tells you Arturas Karnisovas is being thorough this time around.
Who Johnnie Bryant Actually Is
Bryant is 40. He played at Utah. He spent six years with the Utah Jazz as a player development coach and assistant. From 2020 to 2024, he was the associate head coach of the New York Knicks under Tom Thibodeau, where he became one of the most respected assistants in the league. Cleveland hired him in 2024 when Kenny Atkinson took the head job.
The Phoenix Suns nearly hired him last summer before going with Jordan Ott. That alone tells you Bryant has been on the short list for a while.
His skill set is player development. Donovan Mitchell credits Bryant with the work that turned him from a high-volume scorer into an All-NBA guard. Mitchell still texts him before big games. Jalen Brunson worked with Bryant in New York. Bryant got the call from Mike Brown last week to consult on what he saw from the Knicks personnel during the Eastern Conference Finals.
Is He the Right Fit for the Bulls?
This is the harder question. The Bulls have a young roster that needs development. Bryant is a developmental coach. The match on paper is clean.
But Chicago also needs a coach who can win 45 games next year and convince the front office to keep building. That is the hardest job in coaching, and Bryant has not done it before. He is a great No. 2. He has never been a No. 1.
The Bulls’ other top candidates include former Bulls assistant Jerry Stackhouse, current Pelicans assistant James Borrego, and former Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. All four have head coaching experience in some capacity. Bryant does not. That is going to be the conversation in the boardroom.
The Verdict
Bryant is the kind of hire that ages well. Five years from now, if Chicago drafted right and Bryant turns Coby White and Matas Buzelis into All-Stars, this is the move that defined the rebuild.
But the timing might be wrong. The Bulls need to make the playoffs in the next two years or Karnisovas loses his job. Bryant might not be the guy who delivers a quick turnaround.
If Chicago hires him anyway, it would be because the front office wants a long-term partner more than a short-term fix. That is a defensible position. It is also a risky one.
The interview is the first real step. Bryant has been here before with the Suns and walked out without the keys. The question is whether the Bulls move faster than Phoenix did. If they do, Chicago has its next head coach.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
