This offseason, the Chicago Bulls are making some changes to their coaching staff. Maurice Cheeks is set to leave his position as full-time assistant coach and take on a new role under head coach Billy Donovan, according to a story published on Tuesday by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Assistant coach Chris Fleming was removed from Donovan’s Bulls coaching team, Charania continued.
Rearranging Chairs: NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson discussed how these exits might affect the team going ahead, pointing out that assistant coaches John Longstaff and John Bryant are expected to play bigger roles for the Bulls.
Johnson also stated that Cheeks made the decision to leave his position as Donovan’s bench assistant.
Fleming joined the Bulls in 2019 after being hired, first serving as Jim Boylen’s assistant coach. Fleming’s prior coaching stints with the Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets helped him establish a reputation as an offensive-focused coach.
Chicago native Cheeks is a four-time NBA All-Star, 1983 NBA champion, and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. As a player, Cheeks was well-known for spending 11 of his 15 NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and was recognized as a defensive-minded point guard who was selected five times for the All-NBA Defensive Team.
Cheeks has coached in the NBA for 28 seasons, nine of those as head coach. His record as head coach is 305-315 in 620 games.
