The Chicago Bulls will hire Portland Trail Blazers’ interim head coach Tiago Splitter to replace Billy Donovan, according to reports Monday.

Donovan stepped down in April after going 226-256 and reaching the play-offs once in six seasons with Chicago.

Splitter got his first taste of being an NBA head coach last season, as the Trail Blazers promoted the former player following Chauncey Billups’ arrest in connection with a gambling investigation.

Portland went 42-40 and beat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Play-In Tournament to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference and reach the postseason for the first time since 2021.

BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are finalizing the hire of Portland Trail Blazers interim Tiago Splitter as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan as the Bulls' coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season. pic.twitter.com/m8e91FrvXC

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2026

The Trail Blazers opened the play-offs at No. 2 seed San Antonio, and the teams split the first two matchups before the eventual West champion Spurs won the next three to close out the first-round series.

Splitter was the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by San Antonio and also played with the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers over a seven-year career.

The 41-year-old Brazilian appeared in 355 games, including 153 starts, and averaged 7.9 points and five rebounds.