Chi-Bulls Podcast w/The Kognacboyz · Kognacboycdubb,Kognacboybobby

Matas Buzelis & Josh Giddey Are Campaigning For Billy Donovan To Stay With The Chicago Bulls😱

April 11, 2026·24 min·2 clips

Montez Boozellas and Josh Giddey are campaigning for Billy Donovan to stay with the Chicago Bulls.

1. The Chi-Bulls Podcast with Bobby and C-Dub covers the final days of the Bulls' season, focusing on player advocacy for Billy Donovan and Matas Buzelis's late-season injury. 2. Hosts are Cognac Boy Bobby and C-Dub, regular co-hosts who analyze the Bulls from a fan-first perspective. 3. The core question is whether players publicly campaigning for their coach's retention should carry weight in a front-office decision — and whether fans and players even want the same thing. 4. Matas Buzelis said publicly, 'I want Billy Donovan. I want him to stay. I'm riding with him forever. He's a cornerstone for my career,' while Josh Giddey added, 'I love him and hope he's here for a long time.' 5. C-Dub contextualizes both statements by noting Buzelis's first head coach in the NBA is naturally going to receive loyalty — naming Derrick Rose's devotion to Vinny Del Negro as a parallel. 6. C-Dub argues the fan view and the player experience of a coach diverge sharply, pointing to Michael Reinsdorf's reported comment that if you don't think Donovan is the coach for you, 'this is not the job for you.' 7. Patrick Beverly, who the hosts expected to publicly criticize Donovan after his arrival, instead praised him as 'a hell of a coach,' which C-Dub describes as surprising even Bulls insiders. 8. C-Dub shares a personal military story: his first supervisor in South Korea was someone he disliked, but a new supervisor who replaced him in month three changed his career and led to three medals — the first guy later tried to reconnect and was declined. 9. He applies this directly to Buzelis, arguing the grass may be greener with a different coach, the way Derrick Rose went from first-round exits under Vinny Del Negro to an MVP and Eastern Conference Finals run under Tom Thibodeau. 10. Bobby agrees, framing it in relationship terms: 'sometimes the person you love might not be what's best for you.' 11. On Buzelis's injury, C-Dub argues as a 'basketball traditionalist' that if you're healthy, you play — regardless of playoff positioning or season standing. 12. Bobby supports this but adds a fan dimension: some people spend all they have to attend one game and may have bought a ticket specifically to see Buzelis or Giddey, and shutting players down ignores those paying customers. 13. The hosts discuss Josh Giddey's visibly poor disposition in the late season — arguments with Buzelis, yelling at refs, standstill dribble handoffs, and disengaged defense. 14. C-Dub speculates Giddey may have been shut down as a reprimand rather than purely for injury prevention, based on the attitude problems he observed. 15. Bobby notes Giddey recorded some triple-doubles but describes the stretches between as 'bad basketball' and says he was 'not himself.' 16. The hosts agree the season collapsed fast after January and that Giddey's mental state reflected the overall team dysfunction. 17. The offseason breakdown segment is conversational and detailed, with Bobby listing specific financial figures: $63M cap space, $9.4M exception, three draft picks, and Leonard Miller and Rob Dillingham options. 18. C-Dub pushes Bobby to include a shoutout to the team's large cache of second-round picks, which both hosts treat as assets that could be traded up into a late first-round selection. 19. The episode's tone is fan-first and candid, with both hosts openly admitting frustration while still finding a silver lining in the offseason outlook. 20. Dedicated Bulls followers tracking coaching decisions and offseason roster moves will find value; casual NBA fans without Bulls context may find the salary-cap detail segment dense.

As heard by us

A blunt Bulls debate about Billy Donovan and Matas Buzelis.

This Bulls-heavy episode centers on two live wires: the chatter around Billy Donovan's future and the concern that followed Matas Buzelis returning to the court and leaving with an injury.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the Bulls chaos without the polished spin.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Chi-Bulls Podcast w/The Kognacboyz