Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan put Josh Giddey and Coby White on notice after loss to Heat

Things were different this year in the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Miami Heat during Wednesday night’s Play-In Tournament. The Bulls scored 91 points in their first two defeats to Miami. Chicago scored just 90 to the Heat’s 109 on Wednesday night in front of 21,380 fans at the United Center.

In a game that mattered in the back half of April, the Bulls looked closer to the team that was thumped 145-117 by the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 31 than the team that went on a hot streak through most of March and April against fringe playoff teams, playoff teams operating with load management, or teams in the thick of trying to tank for Cooper Flagg.

Turnovers killed the Chicago Bulls’ chances

Following the season-ending loss to the Heat, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan spoke to reporters about what he saw from the bench. Donovan thought Chicago’s inability to control the basketball and turnovers cost them a chance to advance to play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Josh Giddey led the Bulls with 25 points but had the second-most turnovers (3). Coby White finished with 17 points on 5-of-20 shooting and committed seven of the Bulls’ 17 turnovers.

A reporter asked Donovan if he felt Chicago was operating with a hand behind their back without an elite player on the roster.

Because of how the speed of the game has changed in recent years, Donovan thinks teams need an elite player or two instead of three, allowing for a roster to better be filled out at several positions rather than relying on a “big three.”

Billy Donovan: Josh Giddey and Coby White aren’t there yet

However, he realized the Bulls don’t have that elite player, and he’s not sure if Giddey, White, or Matas Buzelis will ever get there.

“Any great team, they have a guy that’s really, really elite,” Donovan said. “You know what I mean, and you can go, and a lot of times it’s in the backcourt, (Jalen) Brunson’s obviously great in New York (Knicks). Shai’s (Gilgeous-Alexander) been great in Oklahoma City (Thunder). (Van) Fleet’s really helped. You know, you can get (Steph) Curry. You can kind of go down the list.

“And I’m not saying needs to be a backcourt player, but, you know, I think Cobe made a really, really good jump. Wherever he gets to, I don’t know. Josh made a good jump as well, but to your point, the guys that you’re talking about, that is, and I’m sure those will be all things that the front office will take a look at as they go into the draft and into free agency and all those things…

“I think now you have to kind of build out a whole entire team. But clearly you need a really good player.”

2024-25 Play-in Postgame Media Availability https://t.co/U2XxJxvj3g

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 17, 2025

While Donovan is encouraged by the progress White and Giddey have made this season, the Bulls have a large gap to close if they want to contend in even a weak Eastern Conference.

Donovan sent a clear message to the front office that they need to add an elite player outside the organization to compete for better things than Play-In Tournaments.

It’s impossible to justify giving White and Giddey $70 million for a backcourt that we saw implode on Wednesday night. While Giddey put up numbers in the points column, he let the Heat score at will, ending the Bulls’ season.

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