Next Bulls coach: Adrian Griffin, Wes Unseld Jr. and Kenny Atkinson contenders to replace Jim Boylen as Bulls head coach

The Chicago Bulls have fired Jim Boylen as their head coach, here we look at why he was fired and who could be the next Bulls coach.

Jim Boylen has been fired as the head coach of the Bulls after he failed to take the Bulls into the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Arturas Karnisovas, the executive vice-president of basketball operations, plans to search for a new head coach immediately. Boylen managed a win-loss record of 39-84 (.317) in almost one and half seasons as Bulls head coach.

The Bulls had an abysmal record of 22-43 and were not even in contention to enter the Bubble as they were so far off the 8th seed,

Bulls fire Jim Boylen

The Bulls have lost their way in this century after winning six titles in the 1990s under head coach Phil Jackson and all-time greats in Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

The Bulls’ strategy to start a rebuild while at the top has been a fairly criticized move and they haven’t even been close to reach the top of the NBA again.

Arturas Karnisovas makes the change on Boylen and will start a search right away for his replacement. Among many expected to be considered: Denver assistant Wes Unseld, Jr., former Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson; Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin; Bucks assistant Darvin Ham. https://t.co/SxGYny4Biy

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 14, 2020

The Bulls need a coach who can make Zach Levine stay and get the best out of their young setup. However, this is going to be a massive task, as the Bulls have seriously fallen out of favour, when it comes to superstars choosing the franchise.

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Arturas Karnisovas, the executive vice-president of basketball operations, said the following after sacking Boylen:

“After doing a comprehensive evaluation and giving the process the time it deserved, I ultimately decided that a fresh approach and evolution in leadership was necessary. This was a very difficult decision, but it is time for our franchise to take that next step as we move in a new direction and era of Chicago Bulls basketball.”

Next Bulls coach: Wes Unseld Jr, Kenny Atkinson or Adrian Griffin?

As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski, Denver Nuggets’ assistant Wes Unseld Jr., former Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham are in the conversation to land the job.

Adrian Griffin has been in the news in the last day after tweets about abusing his ex-wife surfaced. He has since then rejected all the accusations, but it will be interesting to see, if the Bulls bring him in during such controversial times for the individual.

Wes Unseld Jr. had earlier applied for the Cavs job in 2019 but could not bag it. However with the Nuggets showing an upward graph recently, Wes might be tempted to stick around as they are slowly and steadily building a great squad.

But, Kenny Atkinson might be the leading candidate to replace Boylen. Kenny led the Nets to the seventh seed this season even though KD was ruled out because of an Achilles injury and Kyrie Irving played only 20 games this season.

Although the squad was meant to be the whipping boys inside the bubble, the Nets played an aggressive brand of basketball taking their opponents by surprise.

The Nets had several injury issues throughout the year and might have had a similar finish like the Bulls if not for his management skills. Kenny is known to develop youngsters and he might be the perfect candidate to bag the Bulls job at the moment.