The Chicago Bulls aren’t cutting corners. New VP of Basketball Operations, Bryson Graham, has opened up a long list of candidates he wants to meet about the team’s head coach position. Sean Sweeney (Spurs), Micah Nori (Timberwolves), Dave Bliss (Thunder), Jerry Stackhouse (Warriors), and Wes Unseld Jr. (Bulls) are all in the mix. That list expanded even further with the news that Graham requested permission from the Miami Heat to speak with longtime assistant Chris Quinn about the job. That request was granted.
Quinn is a fascinating story. He cracked the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2006, making it six years in the league. After retiring, he signed on at Northwestern as an assistant but was quickly back in the pros within a year. He was brought onto the Heat staff under Erik Spoelstra and has held that position for the past 12 years. In that time, he has helped the team make the playoffs eight times and the NBA Finals twice. That alone is noteworthy, but Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes there is a specific reason Graham likes Quinn.
Miami assistant Chris Quinn is now in the mix, as the Bulls have reportedly received permission to talk to Quinn about the vacancy left when Billy Donovan opted to walk away from the head coaching seat after six seasons.
Quinn fits the job description that Graham laid out when he was hired, not only having a strong reputation for player development, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s worked under Erik Spoelstra — arguably one of the elite coaches in the league — since 2014.
Chris Quinn has been integral to Miami’s development program.
While most think of the Heat as a destination spot for big-time free agents and trade acquisitions, the truth is they’ve been excellent at drafting and developing players for a long time. Some of their recent success stories include All-Stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, excellent benchman Jaime Jaquez, and promising big man Kel’el Ware. While Spoelstra gets most of the credit, many in and around the organization insist that Quinn is outstanding at molding young players into professionals with discipline, accountability, and motivation.
Many are surprised that the 42-year-old hasn’t already gotten a coaching job. Part of it is that the Heat have worked really hard to keep him around, promoting him to associate head coach in 2024. He’s gotten loads of attention in recent years. The Lakers, Pistons, Bucks, Suns, and Cavaliers all interviewed him in the past three years. Quinn did go to college at Notre Dame. He worked at Northwestern. So he’s familiar with the region. Maybe Chicago is finally the place he gets his shot.
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The interview process will be decisive.
Anybody who has followed sports long enough knows it isn’t always the most prestigious candidate who wins the race. It is the one who says the right things when he gets in front of the top brass of the team. This is where Chris Quinn apparently hasn’t been at his best. Interviewing with so many teams suggested his sales pitch isn’t strong enough. Either that or he’s incredibly unlucky. Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see if his mindset meshes with Graham’s.
There is no question he’s been groomed by one of the best in the business. Spoelstra will end up in the Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done. If Quinn approaches anywhere close to the same level of capability, any team that hires him will have lots of success in the coming years. That is why it would be unwise to ignore him as an option for the Bulls. He might not be the biggest name, but he might be the biggest threat.
