These Billy Donovan Quotes Paint a Concerning Picture for the Chicago Bulls

As the Chicago Bulls watched Coby White and Josh Giddey exit Tuesday night's game with injuries, it was hard not to let the brain spiral.

The Bulls have already proven to be an incredibly unstable team this season – one that can lose eight of nine games before rattling off a shocking five-game winning streak. At least a part of this has seemingly been due to their new depth-centric identity. They want to win by ensuring that the whole is better than the sum of its parts. While it may not sound so bad on paper, it sure hasn't read like a contending recipe either.

The more heavily you rely on a deep rotation, the more severely you might hurt when a player or two goes down. In other words, the absence of having that obvious No. 1 or No. 2 player who can lead the way is only going to become more glaring. The Bulls learned that the hard way earlier this month, and they could be on the verge of being taught the same lesson with two important players likely headed for the injury report.

This is why Billy Donovan's words after Tuesday night's 136-101 loss stood out. As reporters pressed him on the confusing state of the roster as the trade deadline inches closer, Donovan couldn't help but express an understanding of where they were coming from.

“He’s probably looking at a 30,000-foot view, and I’m kind of looking at it from the view of we have a game against New Orleans," Donovan said about the difference between Arturas Karnisovas and himself." I’m just looking at it from a competitive standpoint. What we have to do the next game. I think you guys are asking legitimate and serious and good questions. Is there enough right now? And I totally understand that. But the games are going to keep on coming.

I’ve always said this, you give me ten guys who are really going to compete, play hard, and play together, and you have a chance to lineup and play and be in a position to win games. I don’t know if that will be enough, but I know that we can be better, and that’s what I’m working towards doing. Again, I’m looking at it from a very narrow, shallow perspective of we got to play in New Orleans here on Wednesday night.”

On the one hand, it's an extremely realistic and understandable response from a head coach. He isn't in charge of the trade talks. He isn't in charge of the roster-building. Instead, Donovan's job is to work with the players he has and help the team perform to the best of its abilities. Could the front office instruct him to take a more long-term approach to how he operates? Sure. But he ultimately isn't in charge of what goes on behind the scenes.

On the other hand ... doesn't this quote say it all?

Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls — Dec 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan questions a call with the referee during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Donovan is clearly being told to win as many games as possible, even if the opposite approach may behoove the Bulls. If he wasn't, youngsters like Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips would be on the floor more. Noa Essengue would have also been eating minutes before his season-ending shoulder injury.

More notably, Donovan is seemingly being told to win these games with a roster that he isn't necessarily confident can do that. While he insists the Bulls can be better, he reiterates that improvement might not be good enough to lead to winning results. It's not an intentional indictment of the Bulls front office, but I sure think those words help illustrate this organization's current shortcomings.

This wasn't the only comment that raised my eyebrow, by the way. Donovan shared similar remarks when addressing the identity he still wants this group to build, regardless of injury trouble (h/t Bulls dot com).

“(Winning) is what we are here to do, but there are also times you walk of the court and say, ‘How do you want to lose?’ Because you are not going to win every game. What does losing look like? I want it to look (if it comes to that) like a hard nosed, competitive team that is laying it on the line and getting after it every single minute. And if the results happen and are not what we want, we can maybe start to correct the mistakes and areas we need to get better.

But if we have too many breakdowns, you are not giving yourself a chance. We can generate good shots. We may not make enough of them. We can take care of the basketball better. There are things we can do. I’m not saying that is enough and we are going to win games doing those things, but I am saying that at least puts you in the conversation of being competitive, and that’s what I am trying to do, to have these guys in position where they are collectively competing.”

Once again, I do not believe Donovan is saying anything egregious here. He is a head coach who wants to see a competitive effort, no matter the outcome. I agree that there is value to be found in every game, particularly when you have a roster of young players. However, these words only make the meaning of this season that much more confusing. What exactly is the goal? What does being competitive really mean to this organization?

If recent history is correct, I suppose it means shooting for the postseason at all costs, even if it means a fourth straight Play-In Tournament exit. In other words, it doesn't mean taking a long-term approach that helps build a roster that can compete for an NBA title. All that appears to matter to the Chicago Bulls is the here and now, which is an approach Donovan doesn't necessarily sound all that confident in.

So, will the next few weeks help us better understand the vision? The NBA trade deadline is inching closer, and the Bulls have already seen their name come up in a handful of rumors. If they want to erase some of the confusion and build a roster that generates more confidence than questions, moves have to be made sooner than later.