The nightmare so many Chicago Bulls fans feared is coming to pass. They had high hopes that things would be different under VP Arturas Karnisovas and his new front office regime. In the end, it didn’t seem to matter. Jerry Reinsdorf still owns the franchise and he calls the shots on things that matter. Particularly the fate of the head coach. After firing plenty of them in recent years, it’s rather fitting he’ll likely keep the one nobody wants in Jim Boylen.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has stayed on top of the coaching situation for weeks. Things were starting to swing in Boylen’s favor a few weeks back as reports continued to surface that ownership hoped he’d get a fair chance. In reality, his ability to elevate players has nothing to do with why the Bulls will keep him around for the 2020-2021 season.

As always with Reinsdorf, it’s about the money.

“A second bubble was going to allow Karnisovas the much-needed opportunity to evaluate head coach Jim Boylen directly, not only in games, but game prep, practice, and film sessions. The fair and “deliberate’’ assessment Karnisovas insisted on having.

But as the Sun-Times learned this week, even if Karnisovas didn’t like what he would have seen from Boylen he would likely be handcuffed from making a change.

According to several sources, there is strong growing momentum that financial concerns the Reinsdorfs have about the 2020-21 NBA season will keep Boylen in his current seat, as well as most of the coaching staff.

So that “players first’’ motto that Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley were touting several months ago? Well, money just pushed it aside and cut in the front of the line.”

Pandemic turned out to be a saving grace for Jim Boylen

It’s crazy to think about how a national crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic could impact team operations like this. Would Reinsdorf have relented on removing Boylen if the financial windfall of the outbreak weren’t present? It seems that way. So Bulls fans have yet another reason to despise the virus. Not only did it stop them from watching games for months, but it also allowed an ill-equipped head coach to keep his job.

There is a fleeting hope in the organization that with a little more time and a chance to focus solely on coaching that Boylen can turn things around. Yet the rumors of how much players don’t like him pours some cold water on that idea. Nobody has spoken out publicly in his defense. That isn’t likely to change. If anything, the players may become more restless learning this.

Could it lead to trade requests? Don’t be shocked if it happens.