Billy Donovan's seat is starting to warm up in Chicago.
Bulls fans were outraged Thursday night as they watched their team lose 116-105 to a Brooklyn Nets team that was cobbled together of mismatched parts following the trades of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant before the deadline.
The Bulls extended Donovan's contract before the 2022-23 season, tying him to the franchise for several more years—assuming Chicago's ownership does not want to pay a massive buyout.
The team somewhat surprisingly stood pat at the deadline despite its disappointing 26-29 record. Zach LaVine was the subject of heavy trade rumors, but nothing ever appeared to get close as the front office crossed its fingers for a turnaround.
While LaVine did his job in a 38-point outburst, no other Bulls player scored more than 15 points, and Chicago finished 5-of-26 from three-point range.
Questions also linger about the status of the relationship between Donovan and his All-Star guard. David Kaplan of ESPN 1000 said the ship has "sailed" on repairing their fissured relationship, and most of the team has sided with Donovan.
It's unclear if that's the same feeling shared by fans.