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Spurs coach Mitch Johnson smiled when a reporter asked him this week about the addition of Billy Donovan to his staff. "I don't want to be naive enough to think that I'm going to be able to tell you what a 61-year-old Hall of Fame coach like Billy Donovan and his resume can bring to the table," Johnson said. "Obviously, I'm very excited he's here."
Indeed, Johnson views Donovan as an incredibly valuable resource to have by his side as the Spurs attempt to take the next step toward becoming a championship team. "He's a tremendous person, great personality, fits in seamlessly," Johnson said. "He's got worlds of experience and he's an extremely hard worker. He's not kicking his feet up and telling stories. He's rolling his sleeves up and getting his hands dirty. So very, very honored and excited to have him here."
Tom Orsborn: Mitch Johnson on #Spurs adding Billy Donovan: "He's a tremendous person, great personality, fits in seamlessly. He's got worlds of experience and he's an extremely hard worker. He's not kicking his feet up and telling stories. He's rolling his sleeves up and getting his hands dirty."
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and his staff's emphasis on accountability will be even stronger this season after the addition of Billy Donovan. That was the message center Luke Kornet delivered to reporters on the first day of training camp when asked about the Hall of Fame coach joining the defending Western Conference champions.
Olivia Eisenhauer: Billy Donovan on why joining the Spurs in July 2026 after stepping down as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls in April 2026 was the right time: "I just felt that with a new front office coming in that person should have the freedom to choose their own coach... I went in with the impression I was just going to be out for a year." @WCJB20
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Michael Scotto: The Charlotte Hornets are adding John Bryant as an assistant coach, league sources told @hoopshype . Previously, Bryant was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls on Billy Donovan’s staff. Prior, he worked as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers on Brett Brown’s staff.
Michael C. Wright: Billy Donovan & Mitch Johnson have a strong personal relationship. Donovan's son, Billy III, coached w/Mitch in '17 in G League w/the Austin Spurs. Also worth noting Mitch J. & GM Brian Wright are totally in lockstep. Spurs will need 2 replace 3-4 folks off last season's staff.
Shams Charania: Billy Donovan has agreed to become the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and head coach Mitch Johnson, sources tell me and @PeteThamel. After 11 seasons as a head coach in Chicago and Oklahoma City, Donovan accepts the position with the Western Conference champions.
Dusty May is the first college head coach to take an NBA job since former Michigan coach John Beilein took the Cleveland Cavaliers job in 2019. The last to leave college immediately after winning a national title was Kansas' Larry Brown in 1988. Florida's Billy Donovan was the most recent NCAA title-winning coach to leave for the NBA in 2015.
Shams Charania: BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are finalizing the hire of Portland Trail Blazers interim Tiago Splitter as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan as the Bulls' coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season.
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The Bulls, league sources say, have begun bringing select candidates to Chicago for in-person interviews this week following the team's array of virtual meetings in search of the successor to Billy Donovan as head coach. Trail Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter, Hawks assistant coach Ryan Schmidt and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori are among the Chicago finalists, sources say.
Marc Stein: "Mike Brown at best was the sixth choice for this job. Remember that the Knicks asked for permission to speak to Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Quinn Snyder, Chris Finch, and Billy Donovan. All of those teams said no. Jason Kidd and Billy Donovan both got contract extensions and no longer coach the teams where they were a year ago. It really looked like the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau without a plan to replace the first coach who had taken them to the conference finals this century. For things to turn around to this degree, the teamwork, the way that team has come together, the way Karl-Anthony Towns has embraced a new role, the way Mikal Bridges, who has been so maligned for how many draft picks he cost the Knicks, and the level that he has been playing in these playoffs."
Shams Charania: Sweeney will finish the remainder of the postseason on the Spurs bench -- with Game 7 on Saturday night for an NBA Finals berth. Former Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy were the two other finalists for the Magic's coaching vacancy, sources said.
While I always hesitate to frame any potential hire as the favorite for a job, since NBA matters can be so fluid, coaching insiders across the league's landscape are very much operating under the belief that former Bulls coach Billy Donovan has an excellent shot at landing the post. Sources confirmed that Donovan is in dialogue with Magic president Jeff Weltman and will have an in-person meeting with Orlando's lead executive in the near future…Orlando has LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy on its radar as well. The defensive guru on Tyronn Lue's staff is the brother, of course, of former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.