There was a time in the recent past when the Chicago Bulls were thinking about firing head coach Jim Boylen due to unrest from the players. Now, though, the team may not be able to afford a coaching change, according to a report from the Chicago Sun Times.
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a stick right in the wheel that is the 2019-20 NBA season. Following a pair of positive tests from Jazz teammates Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in mid-March, the league decided to postpone the season. Play didn't resume until just recently, but the scenery is much different. All games are being played at Disney's complex in Orlando, Florida, and there are no fans in the stands.
The hiatus caused a great deal of financial uncertainty for many teams around the NBA landscape, and it seems the Bulls are no different.
Via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times:
According to several sources, there is strong growing momentum that financial concerns the Reinsdorfs have about the 2020-21 NBA season will keep Boylen in his current seat, as well as most of the coaching staff.
And this point from Cowley is worth mentioning:
The big winner in this besides Boylen? The Reinsdorfs, who have not only backed Boylen getting another season, but can continue paying him a $1.6 million salary, keeping him one of the lowest-paid coaches in the league.
This news likely won't sit well with some Bulls players and fans. As Cowley points out in his piece, the Bulls are valued at $3.2 billion. Apparently, though, the team is still strapped for cash.
Unfortunately, the Bulls are among the eight teams that were left off the invitation list to this season's restart inside the Orlando bubble. “The Delete 8,” as these teams have come to be known. There was hope that another bubble season could be initiated for these teams in Chicago, but those plans have since died off.
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