The Chicago Bulls lost Billy Donovan as their head coach just one year after signing him to an extension.
As the Bulls signaled for a rebuild at the 2026 trade deadline, they started hearing about rumblings of Donovan garnering attention from a major college program in North Carolina.
Donovan didn’t take on the Tar Heels’ job, but that didn’t mean he was returning to the Bulls. The head coach eventually stepped down. Now, he’s viewed as a potential choice to take over the Orlando Magic job that Jamahl Mosley was forced to leave open.
Will Billy Donovan Land In Orlando?
The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday that the NBA is “operating under the belief that former Bulls coach Billy Donovan has an excellent shot” at the Magic job.
“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.”
The Magic are coming off a season where they were hot and cold. Entering the year, the Magic were viewed as contenders in the Eastern Conference.
They finished with a 45-37 record, which gave them the eighth seed. The Magic entered the playoffs as the final seed and lost in seven games against the Detroit Pistons.
As expected, Mosley was out.
Now, the Magic are considering Donovan, who just wrapped up a six-season run in Chicago. With the Bulls, Donovan achieved a 226-256 record. They made the playoffs just once.
Before that, Donovan coached the Oklahoma City Thunder for over five seasons. They won 60.8% of their games, making the playoffs each time.
Donovan didn’t want to be a part of a rebuilding situation in Chicago. The Magic offer a talented roster that certainly didn’t meet its expectations in 2025-2026. They aren’t guaranteed to hire the ex-Bulls coach, but they seem to have a strong chance of doing so, barring any unexpected changes in the coming days.