The Chicago Bulls recently hired Billy Donovan to be their next head coach, and Donovan is adding Milwaukee Bucks assistant Josh Longstaff to his coaching staff, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Naturally, some fans may get excited and see this as a precursor for a run at Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the Bulls may indeed try to make a play for Giannis, it's still a major long shot and Longstaff was hired simply because Donovan was impressed by his credentials.
After coaching in the high school ranks for five years, Longstaff decided to take his talents to the professional level. He first served as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He lasted with the team for four seasons from 2010 to 2014 before moving to the New York Knicks.
His stint with the Knicks saw him stay for three seasons and earned him a head coaching stint with the Erie BayHawks, the G League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks. After a lone campaign where he led the G League squad to the conference finals, Longstaff made it back to the big leagues, assuming the role of an assistant coach with the Bucks for two seasons.
The Bulls sought a different direction during the offseason as they parted ways with former head coach Jim Boylen, who garnered an overall record of 39-84 over the past two seasons.
Donovan previously saw success as the main tactician of the Oklahoma City Thunder, leading them to a surprising playoff appearance before they were bounced off by the Houston Rockets in seven games during the first round.
Donovan will attempt to lead the Bulls back to relevancy after a few down seasons in the post-Jimmy Butler era. Perhaps if everything goes right, they'll put themselves in position to make an intriguing recruiting pitch to Giannis, with Longstaff as a key piece.
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