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Scottie Pippen slams Bulls move to hire Billy Donovan: 'I don’t see the value he brings'

One of the best players in Chicago Bulls history isn’t happy with the organization’s latest head coach hire.

Scottie Pippen slammed the Bulls’ move to hire former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan earlier this month. Donovan, Pippen said, hasn’t proven anything in the NBA yet.

“I’m not impressed with what [the Bulls] did,” Pippen told Forbes on Tuesday. “I don’t think that they have made any dramatic changes that are going to change who they are as a team. That’s just my personal opinion.

“I like Billy Donovan as a person but I don’t think he’s proved anything in the NBA that proves he’s worth investing in and bringing a team up that needs help like Chicago does. They’re a team that has been struggling for a long time.”

Pippen: ‘I don’t see the value he brings’

Pippen may not see it, but it’s hard to argue that Donovan hasn’t had success in his short time in the league.

Donovan parted ways with the Thunder on Sept. 9, shortly after their loss in the first round of the playoffs at Walt Disney World in Florida. The 55-year-old spent five years in Oklahoma City and compiled a 243-157 overall record while reaching the postseason each year. He was voted the co-Coach of the Year by the coaches association this year, too.

Donovan’s first NBA job was with the Thunder following an impressive stint at the collegiate level with Florida, where he won back-to-back national championships in his nearly two decades in Gainsville.

Whether Donovan can turn things around in Chicago is a different story. The Bulls have made the playoffs just once in the past five seasons, and mustered just 22 wins in the last two years.

Still, it may take some time to win Pippen — who played for the Bulls alongside Michael Jordan and is arguably the second-best player in franchise history — over.

For now, it’s clear he would have rather seen someone else tabbed to replace Jim Boylen in Chicago.

“To me, I don’t see the value he brings to them,” Pippen said, via Forbes. “He’s going to be a coach but there are a lot of them out there. He didn’t do anything special in OKC that warranted him a second opportunity. That’s just my opinion.”

Former Bulls star Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen doesn't like that Billy Donovan was tasked as the Bulls' next head coach. (AP/Steve Helber)

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