Bulls assistant coach Shawn Respert will move on after season

Coach Jim Boylen still seems to be calling the shots.

He’s still keeping in contact with his players and the Bulls’ new front office, and he’s still making decisions on the coaching staff.

Boylen won’t retain assistant coach/player-development coach Shawn Respert when his contract is up at the end of the season, but it was obvious weeks ago that Respert was looking for a new career path long before the season was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Respert had long hinted that he wanted to be a head coach at the college or pro level and couldn’t really envision achieving that goal with his role on the Bulls’ staff.

He was brought into the organization in 2017 under Fred Hoiberg, and his immediate focus was player development. He did get more coaching duties the last two years but was still considered to be on the player-development side.

There was some frustration for Respert, who felt his ideas and philosophies weren’t always heard even though several players built tight relationships with him and appreciated his knowledge of the game.

The bigger picture, however, is that Boylen is still operating as the Bulls’ coach and making decisions like a guy who has no plans to be leaving the post anytime soon.