Chicago Bulls coach Jim Boylen’s future looked grim a few months ago, but there is growing reason to believe he’s going to keep his job after all.
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, there is “strong growning momentum” that Boylen will be retained as the Bulls’ head coach. The primary reason is said to be the finances of chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
Reinsdorf, who also owns the White Sox and the United Center, estimated that his losses due to the pandemic will be in the nine figure range. In addition, uncertainty about the 2020-21 NBA season — and the fact that some sort of separate camp for the Bulls and the seven other teams not invited to the Orlando bubble — makes keeping Boylen a safer option at this point.
Boylen’s salary is also a factor. His $1.6 million salary makes him one of the league’s lowest-paid head coaches, which is advantageous given Reinsdorf’s financial concerns.
It had been widely speculated that new basketball operations vice president Arturas Karnisovas would want to bring in his own coach. That was especially true given there have been complaints from players about Boylen’s offense, and Boylen does not appear to be well-liked by his team. Ultimately, it appears that won’t matter, and Boylen and his players will have to make it work for another year.
