Since being hired in mid-April, new Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas hasn't commented on Boylen's future in a definitive manner. On a few occasions, Karnisovas emphasized the need to evaluate Boylen and all of the individuals and departments inside basketball operations.
In his early conversations with players, Karnisovas had received mixed feedback on Boylen, according to reports. Both Karnisovas and new general manager Marc Eversley had preached the need to be a players-first organization in their early comments. That combined with the Bulls' struggles led many outsiders to believe the organization would part ways with Boylen, who has compiled a 39-84 record across parts of two seasons. His .317 winning percentage is the second-worst of any coach in Bulls franchise history.
Instead, Karnivoas has quietly gone about his evaluation while NBA revenues have tanked with the remainder of the regular season canceled and no fans in the stands. Bulls and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is facing "nine-figure losses" across his two organizations, he told USA Today in July.
Boylen is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the league at $1.6 million annually, the Sun-Times reported.
"Will is piss off the players?" Cowley said on the Dan Bernstein Show on Thursday. "Yeah, but guess what? This might be a whole different-looking team come the '21 free-agent class."
"I don't think they're worried about rocking the player boat."
In mid-July, Boylen spoke confidently of his relationship with Karnisovas and Eversley.
"The relationship has gone really well," Boylen told WOOD-TV then. "We communicate every day. I think they understand where we were, what we’re trying to get to. They’ve been very supportive and collaborative. It’s a process to build this team into what it can be. I just like the fact that we have a relationship already. It’s never perfect. Nothing’s perfect. You just work at it. Tell the truth. You get your guys to play hard. That’s what we’re trying to do."
The Bulls went 22-43 and were left out of the NBA's 22-team restart in Orlando this season. The hope for a second bubble for the eight excluded teams seems to be dwindling, though there could be some sort of organized team activities.