Alright, let me just say it. I just saw the news drop – Billy Donovan, the guy who coached the Bulls to… well, *something*… is now the lead assistant for the San Antonio Spurs. And I’m sitting here, staring at my screen, watching the mainstream media outlets trip over themselves, falling all over this like it’s the second coming of Popovich himself. They’re glazing this move, calling it a masterstroke, a genius hire.
And I’m just like, DAWG. You gotta be kidding me.
I know what you’re about to type in the comments. “Hermes, you’re just hating.” “He’s a two-time national champion!” “He’s in the Hall of Fame!” Yeah, yeah, I heard it all. I know the resume. I know the trophies from the mid-2000s, back when flip phones were still cool and LeBron was just getting started. I know the OKC playoff runs. But I also know what my eyes have seen lately. And what my eyes have seen is a coach with serious L energy, a guy who couldn’t get a Bulls team with actual talent to do anything but tread water in the Play-In tournament.
This isn’t some quiet, strategic addition like when the Warriors snagged Kenny Atkinson. This is Billy Donovan, a guy who was a *head coach* in the NBA just weeks ago, a guy who was reportedly getting interest from the Knicks and North Carolina, now taking a *lead assistant* gig. For Mitch Johnson, no less. Not Popovich. Mitch Johnson.
Let’s talk about that for a second, because the official story is already starting to smell like week-old gym socks. “Donovan, 61, stepped down in April as head coach of the Bulls after six seasons.” Oh, he *stepped down*, did he? After six seasons, with a 226-256 record, missing the playoffs four straight times, and holding an option in his contract? Yeah, and I *stepped down* from eating that entire pizza last night. We both know how that really went down.
“The Bulls said at the time that they wanted the longtime coach to remain in Chicago but that they respected his choice.” PURE. CORPORATE. GASLIGHTING. I’m telling you, that’s a press release crafted by a PR firm whose job is to make a dysfunctional franchise look slightly less dysfunctional. My sources, which include my own damn eyeballs and anyone who watched a Bulls game in the last three years, tell a different story. The Bulls were cooked. They had no aura. They were a team that consistently played below the sum of its parts, and Donovan was at the helm.
I remember Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ EVP of Basketball Operations, putting out the standard boilerplate statement when Donovan “stepped down”: “Billy is a class act and a true professional. We respect his decision to step down and wish him nothing but the best.”
“Class act.” “True professional.” “Respect his decision.” That’s the sound of a front office doing damage control, folks. That’s the sound of them trying to spin an inevitable parting of ways as a mutual, amicable divorce. It’s the same vanilla, safe, focus-group-tested language that makes me want to throw my monitor through a plate-glass window. You know what a “class act” usually means in that context? It means he didn’t air dirty laundry on the way out the door. It means he took the L quietly.
And now, he’s a lead assistant. For a first-time head coach in Mitch Johnson. A coach who just replaced Sean Sweeney, a guy who took the Spurs’ defense from 25th to third in one season and then got a head coaching job in Orlando. Sweeney, by the way, was also a finalist for the Orlando job *alongside Donovan*. So, the Spurs had Sweeney, a guy who clearly had that dawg in him and proved his worth, and he gets snatched up. Then they bring in Donovan, who was essentially dumped by the Bulls, to replace him.
The official line? “Donovan, however, won’t be tasked with taking on Sweeney’s responsibilities. The club brought Donovan aboard for his experience on both ends of the floor, as well as his vast knowledge of the NBA and college games.”
Translation: “We know you couldn’t coach defense for us, Billy, so don’t worry about it. Just stand there and look wise while we tell everyone you’re here for ‘experience’.” I’m not buying it. Not for a second.
This feels like a classic Popovich power move, but not in the way everyone thinks. Everyone’s already writing the headlines: “Spurs get a HOF coach to guide Wemby!” “Popovich’s genius continues!” And yeah, Pop is a genius. But I think this move is less about Donovan’s coaching brilliance and more about Popovich protecting his guy, Mitch Johnson, and maybe even setting up the *next* succession plan.
Think about it. Popovich is the GOAT. He’s built an empire on developing coaches. “The main thing is to pick good people. People that are honest and have a work ethic and are not afraid to tell you what they think,” Popovich once said, speaking on his coaching tree. “They don’t have to agree with me. That’s why I hired them. If they just agree with everything I say, they’re useless.”
That’s the Popovich way. He wants strong voices. But how strong can Donovan’s voice be coming off a Bulls tenure that saw him constantly getting nerfed by injuries, a disjointed front office, and a team that just couldn’t put it all together? He once said, during a particularly rough stretch with the Bulls, “I’ve always looked at it that you have to take full ownership of where you’re at and where you stand.” Noble words, but the results just weren’t there.
So, is this a calculated risk for the Spurs? Or is it a parachute for Donovan?
My gut says this is less about Donovan being the *lead* assistant and more about him being the *name* assistant. He’s a shield. A buffer. When Mitch Johnson makes a mistake, the press will be like, “Well, at least he has Billy Donovan there to guide him.” It’s a way to legitimize Johnson, to give him a veteran presence who can absorb some of the initial heat. It’s almost like the Spurs are giving Johnson a 2K rating boost, just by association.
And let’s not forget the “strong personal relationship” angle. Donovan’s son coached with Johnson in the G-League. That’s the kind of backroom, low-key connection that actually moves the needle in the NBA, not some ESPN talking head’s “statistical deep dive.” This isn’t about X’s and O’s, not primarily. This is about trust, familiarity, and a ready-made support system for a first-time head coach.
But here’s my real question: Is this good for Victor Wembanyama? The kid is a cheat code. He’s the type of talent that transcends coaching, but also the type of talent that needs the *right* coaching. He’s still raw. He needs development, specific tweaks, an environment where his limitless potential can be truly unlocked, not just managed.
Wemby himself has always been open to learning. “I’m always trying to learn from everybody, every single person who has something to teach me,” he once said. And that’s the attitude you want. But is Donovan, coming off the Bulls’ stagnation, the guy to truly tap into Wemby’s next form? Or is he just another voice in a crowded room, albeit a very famous one?
I’m thinking this is a win for Donovan, not necessarily the Spurs. He gets to rehab his image, step out of the scorching spotlight of a head coaching gig, and learn from one of the best organizations in sports. He gets to be part of a winning culture again, without the full burden of responsibility. It’s a soft landing, a chance to rebuild his coaching stock, and maybe, just maybe, position himself for another head coaching job down the line when Popovich finally rides off into the sunset.
For the Spurs, it’s a bet. A bet that Donovan’s college success and early OKC tenure are more indicative of his coaching ability than his recent Bulls stint. A bet that he can bring that “vast knowledge” without bringing the L-energy that plagued Chicago. A bet that he can be a loyal, effective second-in-command to a young head coach.
And for Mitch Johnson? He’s either getting an incredible mentor and a legit shield from the pressure cooker, or he’s getting a potentially overqualified assistant who might subtly undermine his authority or overshadow him. It’s a delicate dance, especially when your assistant is a Hall of Famer and you’re making your head coaching debut.
So, go ahead, @ me. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me this is a genius move for the Spurs. But I’m telling you, this is a much bigger win for Billy Donovan than it is for San Antonio. He found a way out, a way to reset his narrative, and the Spurs just happened to be the perfect landing spot. The real question isn’t whether Donovan can help the Spurs win. It’s whether he can help *himself* win again.
And if Donovan is really the coaching savant everyone claims, why did he have to take an assistant job in the first place?
